


Son of Loki

by AlexDion



Series: Loki and Leif Series [1]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Male OC - Freeform, Post Avengers (Movie), Team Bonding, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 01:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 99,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexDion/pseuds/AlexDion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place post-Avengers. Loki is imprisoned and bitter. He plans to escape, to take a second shot at imprisoning the Earth and to make the Avengers pay. These plans involve his son, whom he had never spoken of in the past. What happens when this son, who is like him in every way, meets the Avengers? </p><p>Chaos will reign, and Loki is the God of Chaos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Final Trick Up his Sleeve

Loki sighed and gazed straight ahead, right at the entrance of the cave he was imprisoned in.

It is late in the evening now, and it seems that he would not be receiving any visitors today. Not like he was complaining of course. For the past two months when he was imprisoned in this dark wretched cave, chained to a large boulder, Thor and Frigga had made it their business to ‘visit’ him almost every day, attempting to coax and persuade him to ‘be good’ again.

Loki did not know which was worse: Thor’s constant nagging and occasional (somehow fairly amusing) displays of exasperation at his brother’s refusal to listen or Mother’s tearstained face. Even Father himself had come to see him twice in his brief period of imprisonment. Thor had been annoying and Frigga had actually managed to induce the slightest tinge of guilt in the trickster, but Odin had caused a far greater impact. In both visits Odin had tried to talk to Loki, to reason with him, and yet there was an undeniable tone of disappointment in his voice. Disappointment. Sadness. Dismay.

Loki closed his eyes and attempted to block out the immense pain and flurry of emotions flooding into his heart.

_All I had ever wanted was some recognition from you, Father._

Loki calmed himself down and regained his usual composure. Well, none of that matters anymore. He gazed down at the thick metal chains that were binding him to the rock, enchanted by Odin himself to ensure that the God of Mischief would not be able to escape. It has been extremely effective so far, such that they had not even bothered to block up or guard the cave’s entrance. Even with Loki’s prowess as a sorcerer, he had been unable to budge a single inch from the boulder.

Odin had decreed that Loki was to be imprisoned until he truly repented the errors of his ways and learnt his lesson. Loki took it to be a more complicated way of saying that he would basically be imprisoned for life. Firstly, Loki felt that he had nothing to repent about. Secondly, he had learnt his lesson; the next time Loki attempted to take over the world, he certainly will not take momentary pauses to attempt to talk reason and logic into dull, green, steroid infused creatures. They would certainly not treat him with the respect that he as a god, deserved. He had learnt his lesson the hard way. It was literally smashed into him.

However, despite Odin’s sentence, Loki did not plan on being imprisoned for long. No, he had a plan. A backup. A seed that he had planted 18 years ago before all this ever started on one of his visits to Midgard. Loki had a son. One born from the union between him and a Midgardian female. Ironically, Loki had not planned the involvement of his son before all of these events. 18 years ago, he had visited Midgard out of boredom and encountered a female swindler, Thea, while browsing through the streets. After their ill-fated first encounter, which involved Thea trying to trick the Trickster God himself, Loki found himself strangely attracted to her, perhaps due to her sassiness, beauty and maybe that aura of rebellion that surrounded her. They courted, made love and eventually had a son. However Loki had to leave before Thea gave birth as his time on Midgard was over as Odin had requested for his return. He had explained his true identity and his reasons to her before leaving.

“Our child will be special.” He had whispered into Thea’s ear as tears flowed down her cheeks. “This will protect him from all harm and unlock his true potential when the time comes. It shall be my replacement for the time being.”  Loki said as he dropped a glowing violet pendant into his lover’s hands, a powerful, magical relic that Loki had found and conveniently claimed as his own while exploring one of the realms previously, having recognised its value.

“Wait!” Thea had cried out as Loki turned to leave. “Our son… what do you want to name him?” Loki considered it for a moment. “He will be my descendant and therefore the descendant of the All Mighty Father, Odin himself. I shall name him Leif.”  With that, Loki had left.

 From time to time, Loki had checked on his lover and child by using magic to allow his mind to wander to Earth. He soon learnt that Thea died during child labour and had mourned her for months. He gazed lovingly at his new born son, endowed with his jet black hair and emerald green eyes, looking remarkably like him. He witnessed how the grubby woman in charge of the orphanage his son was sent to had greedily eyed the pendant he gifted Leif with and stolen it, selling it for a measly hundred bucks.

Loki had raged as the pendant was passed from one dim witted dealer to another, none who understood its real value and finally smirked when a dunce accidentally triggered the relic’s true power, conveniently blowing himself up into smithereens in the process. He watched as the pendant was taken by the organisation S.H.I.E.L.D, remaining a mystery to those fools even till today.  He observed as Leif was adopted by a normal Midgardian couple, and from then on had occasionally taken glimpses of the boy’s life as he grew up.

Loki had planned to bring Leif to Asgard eventually, after his son had grown up into the prince he knew he could be proud of. He had planned to present him to Odin, to surprise his Father with a grandson he knew Odin would be proud of as well. And all along, Loki kept his son’s existence a secret, meaning to spring a pleasant surprise in the future.

_Well, not anymore…_

Loki smiled bitterly. He had forgotten about Leif briefly since Thor’s banishment the year ago. At that time he had believed he could take over the throne of Asgard and had concentrated on that task. Then during his short return to Earth recently he had been pre-occupied with his plans to conquer Earth. It was not until a month ago, when he had been chained to this damned rock for weeks, nearly driven to despair when he remembered his beloved son. His only hope now. Loki gazed out of the cave again and saw that it was getting dark.

_Time to pay my precious son a visit._

Loki smirked as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Odin may have bound his body to this cave, but he can’t bind Loki’s mind. And if Loki’s mind is not bound, then well, he can never be truly imprisoned.

XXX

Leif Matthews gazed around at the silvery green fog surrounding him.

 _Oh no, not again… not another one of these weird dreams…_ He thought drearily as he waited for that strange man to appear.

For as long as he could remember, Leif always had strange dreams like this one. However, they were rare, perhaps occurring only once every five to six months. When he was a child, he had been scared stiff of this black haired, green eyed stranger who always appeared in these dreams. Absolutely terrified. It took six to seven of these encounters for the man to coax a bawling toddler Leif to warm up to him. Since then Leif had always chatted casually with this man when they met in this ‘ _Green and Silver Wonderland_ ’.

However, even after all these years, Leif never knew anything about the man, not even his name. Every time Leif asked a question related to him the man would somehow evade it slyly and change the topic back to Leif. All these dreams had been about Leif and how his life was, never about him. Thus Leif called him The Stranger, a man he was so familiar with and yet knew nothing about.

Leif gritted his teeth, annoyed. These dreams have started to occur more frequently lately. Despite being somewhat enjoyable experiences in the past, they were starting to become disturbing.

After they had stopped for a period of about a year and a half, these dreams are back with a vengeance, like bad tummy aches. Strangely, a month after the alien invasion in New York City, the dreams appeared almost every day. Furthermore, these dreams had become increasingly perturbing.

The Stranger had changed. He was no longer the attentive quiet listener who paid attention to Leif as he rambled on about school life, smirking and grinning occasionally at Leif’s quips. He has become more aggressive, urging Leif to pursue more and to look deeper into his life. He had also recently ( _and ridiculously_ ) told Leif to question his own identity. The Stranger seemed to be hinting about something to him.

Leif frowned, there was a certain air of slyness hanging around this man, something that tells Leif that he should not and cannot be trusted. Leif should know, as he is a rather cunning individual himself if he wants to, an attribute his teachers and friends know too well. However, there was also a certain sense of familiarity about this stranger, something Leif felt since young, a bond and connection that he could never quite explain or understand. It was like they were somehow similar in a way he could not describe.

_Who is this guy?_

Leif had enough of all this. He firmly made up his mind to ask this man for the answers to his questions. Who is he? Why the hell is he in Leif’s dreams all this time? And why for god’s sakes should Leif question his own existence? Is that guy a creeper or something? Tonight Leif was determined to get answers, and if he had to twist the guy’s arm, literally, to squeeze them out of him then he would sure as hell do it.

“Hello once more, Leif.” A silky voice drawled. The black haired man appeared out of thin air suddenly, just a few centimetres in front of Leif. His emerald green eyes were sparkling with mischief and his lips curled up in a smirk. He watched in amusement as the boy gave a little jump backwards, startled at his sudden appearance.

 _Well, this will be another interesting night._ Loki thought to himself, grinning widely as Leif glared at him, silently cursing him for startling him again, as he always did. The Avengers and Odin may have thought that they had Loki cornered for good, but little did they know, the trickster still had one final trick up his sleeve.


	2. Doubts

Leif scowled at man before him, more out of embarrassment than anger.

 _He totally did that on purpose. Damn, he does it every time!_ Leif thought as he glared at The Stranger, whose emerald eyes were sparkling with amusement as he too, observed Leif.

“A little jumpy today, aren’t you? “ The man chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the boy’s embarrassment.

“Damn you. Must you pop out like that in every single one of these dreams?  Can’t you walk in like a normal person? At the very least, you could have given me a fair warning.” Leif sulked angrily.

 _This man seemed to do this solely for the purpose of watching my shocked reaction. He freaking enjoys this. He is amused._  

As much as Leif loved playing a good practical joke on others occasionally, he certainly did not like it when the tables were turned on him.

“My dear boy,” the man said in a mocking tone, “this ‘popping out’ action that you have crudely referred to is known as teleportation. It is a far more useful skill than walking and is used by superior beings like myself. I am certainly no ‘normal person’ and I prefer my entrances to be far more… grand than merely walking in. Furthermore I gave you a warning, did I not? I said hello.” The man smirked as Leif glared daggers at him, raging at his mocker’s smart ass answer.

“Fine! Be grand! Unique! Whatever!” Leif snapped. “But today you are NOT teleporting away without giving me the answers I seek. Who are you and why are you in my dreams all this time? What do you want from me?” Leif had enough. He was not going to tolerate this any longer. All the years of curiosity and puzzlement over this mysterious man were killing him and he demanded answers now. No way is him going to let The Stranger squirm his way out of this confrontation.

Leif’s apparent outrage and questions had wiped that irritating smirk off the man’s face. However he remained silent, gazing straight into Leif’s eyes. Leif felt a sudden chill run down his spine as he struggled firmly to maintain eye contact with this mysterious man. There was a certain coldness in those emerald green eyes. They glinted dangerously with suppressed fury and hatred. For a moment, the boy felt frightened of this stranger.

“Well, why don’t you guess? Who do you think I am?” The man said silently, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence between them. Leif’s temporary fear vanished, replaced by rage. _What did he think this was? A fucking game?_

XXX

Loki stared at the furious boy, amused once more. _Oh my, now he is angry again. He really is short tempered._ Loki mused to himself as he watched the boy rage and apparently, throw a tantrum, hurling insults at Loki.

“I am in no mood to play guessing games today. You’d better tell me who you are, or else.” Leif said hotly.

 _Now he is threatening me. How cute._ Loki smiled, which seemed to infuriate Leif further. _Leif has grown to resemble me a lot._ Loki thought to himself as he observed his son’s facial features and ebony black hair, blatantly ignoring the curses and vulgarities hurled at his direction. _Especially those emerald coloured eyes of his, exactly like mine._ Loki was pleased. He had always taken pride in his own physical appearance and thought that it was wonderful that his son had inherited his excellent looks. _His mouth and character is like his mother’s though._ Loki grimaced as Leif threw another volley of insults his way. _It seems as though his years of growing up on Earth has tainted him with that crude Midgardian culture and language. No matter. There will be plenty of time and opportunity to groom him into the prince that he is in the future._

“Have you finished?” Loki asked dryly as Leif paused to catch a breath after his lengthy rant. Leif stared at him in disbelief, had this man actually listened to what he had been saying for the past few minutes?

“You ask me for my identity, but yet you do not even know your own.” Loki said with a sly smile, enjoying the boy’s apparent confusion at his sentence.

“I know who I am and I demand to know who you are. Do not attempt to distract me.” Leif said tartly, amusing Loki even more. _Oh, so now the boy is challenging him._

“Do you now? Do you really know who you truly are? I doubt so, Leif.” Loki grinned at the boy, who now seemed both enraged and bewildered at the same time. _That was the trick, to generate doubt. When people start to doubt, their curiosity will grow. When curiosity grows, interest will be sparked. With interest, there will be a driven determination to seek answers and truth can then be revealed._

“Have you never once pondered about your life’s purpose, Leif? Have you ever wondered about the reason for your existence in this world? Even if you did not consider these questions before you must have questioned your own parentage in the past, haven’t you?” Loki grinned more widely as he saw the look of horror on the boy’s face at his last question. Ah, he had hit a nerve, Loki thought with satisfaction.

“You had always been different Leif, different from your parents, different from your friends. You had abilities none of the other common humans had. You were special.” Loki continued calmly, “you are born for great things and until you come to terms with this fact, until the day you finally muster the courage to learn your true identity, I will not tell you who I am.” With that, Loki ended his speech and waited his son’s reaction. Leif had closed his eyes, confused by Loki’s words and trying to make some sense of what he had heard.

“You know what I think?” Leif finally said, opening his eyes and staring at Loki. “All these years I always had a strange sense of familiarity about you and in recent years, I have noticed that we somehow resemble each other physically.” Loki widened his eyes in surprise. He was impressed. _My, has Leif actually figured out that he is my son? He must be a lot smarter than I give him credit for, obviously, considering the fact that he is MY son._ Loki thought to himself, feeling pleased.

“I believe that you must be a form created by my ego and sub consciousness, a figment of my own imagination. You are driven by my inner most desires and doubts to question my conscious self.” Leif declared.

Loki was stunned for a moment. He simply couldn’t speak. It was like the shock he experienced that time that dull green creature had swung him around and left him in a crevice in the ground, only many times worse. This stunned speechlessness was then quickly replaced by intense stomach cramps as he willed himself with all his might not to laugh out loud at Leif’s ridiculously stupid suggestion.

_And he is my son._

“A marvellously amusing guess.” Loki said as the corners of his lips curled upwards, “but sadly it is one that is also marvellously wrong. Were you actually aspiring to become one of those so called human mind readers known as psychologists?” Loki gave a chortle as Leif scowled. “Well I am afraid you were not meant for that. Don’t feel bad though, what you have said was hilarious. It was entertaining.” Loki smirked. “I believe it is time for me to go, Leif. We shall meet again and when we do, I hope that you will be prepared to learn about who you truly are. Then will I tell you my identity. Consider all that has happened in your life so far, do not be afraid to question. You were born with glorious purpose Leif, remember that.” Saying that, Loki vanished, taking one final glimpse of Leif’s shocked expression as he shouted something Loki did not hear.

XXX

“Wait!” Leif cried out as his eyes flew open and his hand stretched out in an attempt to grab the vanishing man. It took him a moment to realise that he was in his bedroom now, awake, hot and sweaty. The Stranger had disappeared again and as usual, Leif did not manage to get the answers he wanted. _Damn._ Leif gazed at the digital clock on his bed side table. _5:15 a.m._ _Well, almost time to get up for school anyway, just 2 hours earlier… not like it matters anyway._ Leif thought grumpily as he trudged towards the bathroom, how could he possibly sleep after a dream like that? As Leif took his usual morning shower, he pondered about what the man had said in his dream. _Glorious purpose. Reasons for existence._ Leif snorted. _How utterly ridiculous._

What other meaning could life have, other than to eat, sleep and have fun (by means of playing amusing tricks on the people around him and watching them squeal)? All other claims people have for the meaning to life are lies. Money, power, status and memories will all be gone once you are dead. The slate will be wiped clean and blank. All will be forgotten. So Leif had concluded, a very long time ago, that his life’s purpose would be to eat, drink and be merry. _Some glorious purpose that would be…_

As Leif prepared to brush his teeth, he paused for a moment, staring at his own reflection in the basin mirror. He knew that he was handsome and that many girls in school thought him to be extremely attractive as well. His almond shaped green eyes, silky black hair, tall nose bridge and beautifully shaped lips that always curled up in his signature smirk all contributed to his good looks. He was particularly fond of his emerald green eyes, which have dazzled and made many girls coo. However this particular feature of his also posed a disturbing problem. Leif looked nothing like his parents. Oliver Matthews was a stout and burly man with sparkling blue eyes and his blonde hair styled in a crew cut. Eleanor Matthews on the other hand was a prim woman with kindly brown eyes and wavy chocolate brown hair. Besides the fact that Leif’s eye colour had a stark contrast with his parents’, his tall and lanky build did nothing to prove that he had inherited genes from them as well. As soon as Leif learnt about genes and inheritance in biology class at school, he had made a clever deduction that he must have inherited rare recessive genes from his parents or something like that. After all, it is the only logical explanation for his obvious physical difference, right?

_You must have questioned your own parentage?_

Leif went back to his room, sat on his bed and became immersed in his thoughts. _You had always been different._ As much as Leif would like to deny this, he knew deep inside that it was true. He is different. When he was young, at about 7 or 8, a group of bullies had targeted him due to his apparent frail looks and weird name (that they had jeered at). They had pushed him into a deserted alley and surrounded him, ready to beat him up. The ring leader took the first swing at Leif and the situation turned ugly. The 13 year old boy ended up in a hospital with a broken arm and a black eye while his cronies fled the scene, screaming. The teachers could not believe that this tiny boy with such innocent face could have savagely beaten up a boy twice his size and decide that it must have been a mistake. Thus Leif was let off the hook. However, ever since that incident, rumours had spread about the monstrously strong boy who took down the neighbourhood bully in two blows and no one had dared to cross him.  Leif himself had also learnt, since that experience that he was far stronger and had faster reflexes than the average human.

_You are different from ordinary humans._

_So what? So what if I am different?_ Leif thought bitterly. _It could have only proved that I am a freak. What does all of this make me?_

“Wow! You sure are up early today!”

Leif jolted out of his thoughts and glanced at his bedroom’s doorway. Eleanor was standing there, smiling warmly at him, as she always did every day. “Recently you have been waking up punctually every morning. That’s a good sign,” Eleanor teased. “Looks like my days of dragging you up for school in the morning with gongs and firecrackers are over.” Despite his troubles, Leif could not help but grin widely.

“Would you have preferred to continue that tradition? I don’t mind you know, gives me a few extra minutes of sleep.” Leif quipped mischievously as he rose from his bed and walked towards Eleanor.

“No. I would definitely not, you rascal,” Eleanor laughed as she looked fondly at her son, “shame on you if you make me continue doing that, you are nearly 18 now you know.”

“Yes, I have grown up now Mom,” Leif smiled, “However I find it disconcerting that you still treat me like a child.”

“That is because you are, Leif, and will always be my little child.” Eleanor said lovingly as she gave Leif a hug. “Now, let’s go downstairs for breakfast and if I still remember correctly, my little Leif loved my home made pancakes. I wonder if the grown up Leif still does”

“Well, I guess I am still the little Leif inside, even if I have grown to be taller and more handsome than before.” Leif grinned as he followed his mother downstairs, listening to her chuckle at his reply. Forget The Stranger and all those puzzling questions, obviously pancakes, and especially Eleanor’s pancakes, came first.


	3. Revelations

“So you see class, due to the demand for the good being extremely price inelastic, raising the price of the good will result in a larger profit for the firms.” Mr Cash, the Economics teacher drawled, as he added lines and words to the already complicated demand-supply diagram on the white board.  Leif gave a bored yawn, not even bothering to stifle it. He had always considered Economics class to be an absolute waste of time. Sure enough, the theories were interesting; however they were so commonsensical that it usually took Leif only once or maybe twice to read before fully understanding them. To him the subject was just common sense mixed with economical jargon. Thus, instead of attempting to feign interest in Mr Cash’s ramblings about the US’s market, Leif allowed his mind to wander off and focus on The Stranger and his recent dreams.

The Stranger had told Leif that he was meant for great things _(whatever that meant)_. He had urged Leif to think deeper into his life, to discover his true destiny. Leif smirked at this thought. 

_Sounds like one of those corny dramas where the hero was always told to find his life’s calling._

Personally, Leif felt that he would make a terrible hero. After all, it was highly unlikely he would be motivated to save people and fight for the greater good. Leif was not a person like that. He liked having fun and making mischief. It was more likely that he would cause trouble than stop it. Sacrificing himself to save the world? Nah, he was not that noble. However, there was something the man had said to him that had struck home, a suspicion he had harboured for ages and yet refused to acknowledge. His parentage.

No matter how much Leif loved his parents and how much he knew his parents loved him, he couldn’t help but realise how different he was from them. He had noticed this since he was young and when he had grown older, realised what this had meant. Nonetheless, Leif refused to think deeper into it. He loved his parents and he liked the way his life was now, thus he had tactfully avoided this topic with his parents all his life and they had thankfully done the same.

_But you must have always known that you were different._

“Matthews, could you explain the diagram on the board to the class please?” Mr Cash’s voice rang across the class, waking Leif up from his day dream. Leif sighed. _Not again…_ Leif stood up, glanced at the board and started giving a lengthy and well-constructed answer to the question. The entire class listened attentively, many with their eyes wide with amazement. The most amazing thing about his answer was that it was the exact same speech Mr Cash had made to explain the diagram earlier, repeated word for word. When Leif finished, many of the girls were gazing at him in admiration while the guys were basically staring at him, impressed. Flabbergasted and not knowing what to say, Mr Cash simply nodded at Leif with a “Thank you, Leif,” and gestured for him to take a seat.

“Thank you too Sir. I am afraid that my explanation was not as concise and detailed as yours had been though, I am not as smart.” Leif said innocently, with a grin on his face. Several of his classmates snickered while his poor teacher started to turn a lovely shade of green.

 _When would they ever learn that they would not be able to simply catch me unaware?_ Leif thought to himself with the devious grin still plastered on his face. He watched as Mr Cash turned his back on the class and started erasing the white board with unnecessary vigour and resisted the urge to laugh. How could life possibly get more fun than this?

XXX

Soon, class was over. Mr Cash had dismissed them with a wave of his hand when the bell rang and flustered out of class, not wanting to stay there a moment longer. Leif packed his things and was about to leave the room when an attractive female classmate of his strutted towards him.

“I loved the way you showed Cash up earlier. You were so cool.” She purred, tossing her beautiful golden locks of hair and batting her sapphire blue eyes.

“Thanks Samantha. It was nothing much,” Leif grinned, hoisting his bag onto his back and preparing to leave.

“Oh, nothing was ever much to you was it?” Samantha laughed, “But most of the girls think that you are suave when you do something like that, me included. You have always been so smart.” She walked out of the room with Leif, gazing at him earnestly. Leif smiled weakly, not knowing what to say. Samantha continued to chatter, talking about things that Leif was interested in, such as his general awesomeness, and things he generally didn’t care about: gossip, school and her favourite shade of nail polish. Leif allowed his mind to drift off again, back to the strange man and effectively, blocking Samantha out.

“In fact, I am so looking forward to our movie date today!” Samantha finished happily, giving Leif an expecting look. This sentence of hers snapped him back into reality.

“Huh? What movie date?” Leif said, giving her a quizzical look. Samantha’s face darkened.

“You promised to go out with me after school today, remember? We were going to watch the movie Dark Shadows. How could you forget?” Samantha pouted, her face crestfallen.

 _Damn, I have forgotten._ Leif chided himself as he remembered how he had agreed to watch that movie when Samantha asked him out two days ago, thinking that she was pretty hot. However, he had a lot of things on his mind currently and he was not quite in the mood to go out for a date today.

“Sorry, Sam. I will have to take a rain check on that movie today. I have some other plans.” Leif said casually, not even bothering to appear apologetic about it.

“What? But you promised!” Samantha argued in disbelief.

“Yeah well, the thing is, promises are meant to be broken, aren’t they?” Leif replied with a smirk and turned to walk away, ignoring the dagger sharp glares thrown at his back by the furious rejected female. Now his reputation is going to take a dip further down the drain, Leif thought in amusement to himself as he entered a classroom for his next class and sat at his usual table near the back of the room. Not like it mattered anyway, Leif had been labelled a trickster, a playboy, a bad ass and many other things by both his classmates and teachers in the school. To sum it all up, he was notorious. An additional title of ‘jerk’ wouldn’t hurt his classmates’ opinions of him (not that much anyway) and as long as he managed to keep his grades up, the teachers did not see any reason to bother him (that or maybe they simply did not fancy bringing trouble onto themselves).

 Leif sighed and looked down at his right hand. He made a gesture as though he was holding something between his thumb and index finger and concentrated his mind on the air in between them. The air started to quiver and obvious waves and pulses could be seen. It was like the CG created shock waves that you would normally see in fantasy and action movies. Leif always had this ability, ever since he was a toddler. He could create these energy waves in the air between both of his hands or fingers when he concentrated and he did it rather often for his own entertainment. He was, however, careful not to let the others know of this ability he had. Leif had unwittingly showed it to a friend once when he was 6 and the irritating brat had ran off squealing and calling him a freak ( _fortunately no one had believed that boy_ ). Since then Leif kept this as a secret to himself as he certainly did not need any more ill reputation.

Leif gazed at these air waves, distracted by the patterns and ripples formed. He had always considered them to be very pretty and a good form of entertainment when he felt troubled or down. Then, all of a sudden, epiphany hit him, jolting him from his stupor. _Why have I never thought of this before?_ Leif looked at the air waves he created again, this time more seriously and for the first time, truly realising the significance of this skill he had always used for his mere enjoyment. In fact, he had never given much thought to this little trick he could do in the past. It was like a reflex, a natural skill.

_You had abilities no ordinary human had. You aredifferent._

Normal people usually can’t create waves in the air with their bare hands, can they?

XXX

Leif is back in the green and silvery mist. This time, he is ready. He waited patiently for the man to appear as he thought carefully about the questions he would ask, questions not only about The Stranger but about Leif himself as well. The Stranger had said that Leif was special and had great purpose in life didn’t he? Well, Leif wanted to know what that meant and what made him so different. He would listen to the man’s answers, no matter how far-fetched it seemed (he had an idea that the answers given would be remarkable, unbelievable even) and then decide for himself if it was true or if this was just another crazy part of his own imagination.

“Greetings boy.” The dark haired man materialised out of thin air again. “My, you seem less fidgety today,” he smiled mockingly, appearing somewhat impressed as Leif showed no signs of being shocked.

“You do this trick all the time. It’s getting old.” Leif smirked as he folded his arms. He was not going to give this man the satisfaction of scaring him again, not anymore.

“Well, seeing that I did this for nearly 14 years you might have thought that it would have ‘gotten old’ earlier.” The man replied, giving a smirk so similar to Leif’s that it made Leif scowl.

“Enough of this,” Leif growled. “I came today for answers.” The man smiled at Leif’s statement, raising his eyebrows as he questioned Leif wordlessly: _And? What else?_ “I know I am different, always have been.” Leif continued, in reply to the man’s questioning look, “I had greater strength and faster reflexes than the average human. I had an ability to create some sort of energy waves with my hands if I concentrated on doing so. I am different and I want to know the reason why. I know since a long time ago that I can’t possibly be my parents’ son, I am just too different. Who am I? You can give me the answer to this question, right?” Leif finished and looked straight at the man’s eyes. There. He had done all the things the man wanted him to do. He has accepted his differences and is no longer afraid to express them. He has shown that he is ready for answers and he wanted them now. He is prepared.

“Well done Leif. You have finally come to terms with something that you have denied to yourself for a long time. That’s a good thing,” the man gave a teasing grin while Leif glared at him. “I was reluctant to give you answers in the past because you were not ready. However I can see now that you are.” The man continued seriously, no longer smiling. “What I am about to tell you is something remarkable, unbelievable even. It will change your life forever and after you have learnt this knowledge, you may never be able to return to your old way of living again. Are you prepared for that?”

Leif felt an uncontrollable shiver down his spine. _Unable to go back to my old life._ He thought of his father’s hearty jokes and his mother’s warm smiles. Could he leave all of that? However, he thought about the agony of not being able to unravel this mystery for the rest of his life, to continue living not truly knowing who he was. That was worse, far worse. He had made up his mind. Leif looked firmly into the man’s eyes and nodded. _I can still be mom and dad’s son if I want to, right?_ The Stranger smiled, pleased at Leif’s decision.

“Good, my boy. Firstly, I will answer your earliest question. I am Loki.” The man said simply, waiting for Leif’s reaction (which was a fairly amusing one, to Loki at least). Leif’s jaws fell open. He was stunned. Stupefied. Astounded. It took him a minute to regain his ability to speak.

“What? Holy shit! You are the freaking God of Mischief?” Leif exclaimed and in his astonishment, forgot to maintain the dignity he had tried to preserve in front of this stranger. Loki simply nodded and smiled smugly. “Wait! I heard from the news that the one responsible for the alien invasion here in New York two months ago was Loki. You were the one who invaded our city?” Leif asked disbelievingly. He had remembered those attacks too well. Luckily for Leif and his family, their house was located near the edge of the city and they were able to get underground to safety in time before the alien attack spread there. They had escaped unscathed, but relatively shaken. Their house was a mess after that but it was nothing serious that a little money can’t fix.

“Yes I was,” Loki answered, unabashed by the boy’s accusations.

“Damn. So you are that sick bastard wearing the ridiculous horned outfit that I saw in one of the live footages on television.” Leif spat in disgust and glared at the man before him (who is currently shooting daggers at him as well with his emerald green eyes).

“For your information, my armour is something that only the nobility in Asgard had the privilege to wear. You won’t see common folk wearing it anywhere!” Loki scowled.

“Well, you won’t see me wearing it either, not in a million years.” Leif retorted. “And that doesn’t change the fact that you are a sick bastard. If you are really a noble, or a prince as I have heard, in Asgard, where ever that is, why would you want to come and invade my home city?”

“Because I am and should be the true king of Asgard. I was betrayed, banished from my realm and in order to reclaim the rightful title and power I was cheated of, I made plans to conquer Earth and become its King.” Loki declared, his voice shaking with anger and hatred.

“Whatever! You failed anyway and miserably at that.” Leif smirked as he watched the Asgardian prince’s furious expression. “Besides, what has that got to do with me?”

“It has everything to do with you Leif,” Loki said, forcing himself to calm down. “I may be defeated for now but I have a plan to regain the power and status that I have lost. I have a son, an heir. One that I had with a normal human female and he is my only hope now. You are that son, Leif.” Loki finished, gazing at the boy. Leif was dumbfounded once more. He looking at Loki was any signs that he was joking, that the God of Tricksters was tricking him. However Loki’s face was serious. Dead serious. _This can’t be. It must be a joke, a bad prank._ Leif’s thoughts were all jumbled up. He just couldn’t think clearly anymore.

 _Oh God, I can’t contain it any longer. This is so ridiculous._ With that, Leif did the only thing reasonable at this point, he laughed.

XXX

Loki stared incredulously at the boy doubled over in laughter before him.

**** _How. Dare. He._

Loki was furious. Steamed. There he was, telling the boy his true identity and status as his son, a prince of Asgard, and the boy _laughed_. How repulsively rude of him! The brat should be standing there, stunned with tears of joy in his eyes at the realisation of his glorious position in life. Not crouched on the floor with tears of mirth as he snorted like some common troll. If he could hurt the boy in his dreams Loki would have walked up to him and slapped him senseless. He watched his son angrily as Leif took a few minutes to guffaw, choke and snigger before finally composing himself and standing up again.

“Oh, so you have finally finished embarrassing yourself?” Loki asked coldly, glaring at Leif, who suspiciously seemed to be stifling another snicker. “You have asked me for answers to your questions. I do not find it amusing that you guffaw like an idiot when I present you with these answers.”

“Oh come on now! You must be kidding?” The boy grinned as he looked at Loki. The grin quickly faded as he saw the coldness in the god’s green eyes, unfeeling without its usual sparkle of mischief and mirth. “Okay, so you are not kidding.” Leif continued lamely. _About time he realised._ Loki thought sarcastically.

“Come on, you really expect me to believe that I am your son? The son of a god who commanded and brought aliens to attack Earth? That I am supposed to be some kind of Asgardian prince?” Leif blurted out.

“Why, yes.” Loki answered simply.

“Well I don’t. If you want me to believe it, prove it!” Leif replied curtly. Loki sighed.

_I knew it wasn’t going to be easy._

“Firstly, as you yourself had said before, you resemble me. Our green eyes, black hair, facial features and body build. They are almost the same. You can look in the mirror, if you don’t believe it.” Loki said matter of factly

“I know very well how I look like! But what you have said could just be a coincidence. You are the God of Lies and Trickery and I heard you can shape shift as well! How would I know that this is not another lie? That you have changed your appearance to trick me?” Leif argued. Loki lifted his eyebrows, impressed. The boy’s mind was sharp. _Just like me._

“Yes Leif, I am the God of Lies and Mischief but I believe appearance is not the only trait you resemble me in. I heard you can be a bit of a mischief maker yourself.” Loki grinned as he saw the boy flinch a little. “However, if you want a more solid proof of your identity, I can give you that as well.” He mused as Leif tensed up at these words. _At least the boy is interested._ “Before I left Earth 18 years ago, I had given your mother a keepsake meant for you. It is a violet pendant, infused with powerful magic and I have enchanted it such that its powers can only be used by its true owner alone, you. The special abilities that you have always had are the result of my blood running through your veins, however they are suppressed and weak. This pendant can unlock your powers and unleash them to their full potential. Once you find it, you will have no choice but to believe your true identity as my son, a prince of Asgard.”

Leif’s eyes were wide. _Stunned again son? Dear me, you really get amazed by the smallest things._ Loki mused as he gazed at Leif. Finally, Leif pulled himself together.

“Well, where do I find this pendant?” Leif asked sceptically.

“It was taken by an organisation known as S.H.I.E.L.D years ago and is currently being guarded in one of its hideous buildings in New York. Those incompetent fools have yet to discover its power.” Loki smirked at the thought of that. However, what he said just made Leif gape more.

“If it is being guarded in a top security building, how could I possibly…” Leif started nervously but was soon cut off by an impatient Loki.

 “I would not consider those monkeys in suits the definition of top security Leif, and even if they were moderately trained, you, with your exceptional strength and reflexes can take them on with ease. There is also no need to fret about not knowing where the pendant is located in the building. It will call to you, as it always does to its true owner.” Loki sneered. He looked at his son, who is now obviously flabbergasted and seemed to have conflicting feelings about his father’s suggestion.

“Well, are you game for it?” Loki asked with a sly smile. Leif stared at him, unsure of what to say. However, even if a little needling, pushing and coaxing was needed, Loki knew what his son’s final decision would be, even before Leif knew it himself. Loki gave another smirk. _He is my son, after all._


	4. Trouble's Brewing

Leif sat at the round pine table in the kitchen, watching as Eleanor bustled about preparing breakfast. He smiled in approval as she laid three plates filled with savoury bacon and eggs on the table in front of him.

“Thanks Mom!” Leif grinned as he grabbed his and started attacking the bacon with gusto. He always became hungry after those strange dreams somehow and something tells him that he would need a lot of energy for what he is about to do later that day.

“Good morning!” Oliver’s loud jovial voice boomed as he strode into the kitchen. “Hmmm… Breakfast smells wonderful! Thanks dear.” Oliver said as he gave Eleanor a peck on her cheek, reducing her to giggles.

“Ugh, please people. I am present if you haven’t noticed,” Leif groaned and comically pretended to gag at the sight. His parents laughed and sat down around the table with him.

“Great weather we are having today huh? Wonderful for a Saturday!” Oliver chuckled in his usual buoyant self. Leif nodded in agreement, his mouth too full of bacon to reply. He turned his head and gazed out of the window. The weather is beautiful. Usually, it was weather that Leif would have enjoyed immensely, especially on a weekend, however he was too nervous about the later events that day to care. Oliver looked at his son’s troubled face and seemed to notice that something was wrong.

“Are you okay, Leif? You seem to have a lot of things on your mind lately.” The older man asked, his face lined with worry.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I am fine. Just thinking about school work, the topics are getting harder you know.” Leif lied casually and managed to seem so sincere that his father simply smiled.

“Well, just do your best and don’t stress yourself too much.” Oliver said, patting Leif on the shoulder. Leif gave another nod, relieved that his father believed him. However there was this nasty little voice at the back of his head.

_Always so good at lying, aren’t you? Such a natural born liar, a fitting child for the God of Lies and Mischief…_

“So son, why don’t we go out later and shoot some baskets?” Oliver grinned widely and winked at Leif, who couldn’t help but smile back, despite his troubles.

“I would love to, Dad, but I can’t. Sorry. I have other plans,” Leif replied apologetically.

“Oooh, I bet it’s girl plans, isn’t it?” Eleanor cooed teasingly. Both she and Oliver shared a knowing glance with each other before turning and grinning at Leif expectantly.

“As much as I am handsome and extremely good with the ladies, I am afraid it isn’t a girl. At least, not this time.” Leif chuckled. Both parents stared at him with amusement and doubt.

“Well, be sure to bring your girlfriend home and introduce her to us one day, if you ever get one,” Oliver smiled. “Your mom and I are getting impatient you know.” Saying this, both Oliver and Eleanor laughed heartily and Leif grinned at his parents’ antics.

“Well, I have to get going,” Leif finally said after he finished his breakfast.

“So early?” Eleanor asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I have quite a lot of things to do,” Leif replied. He stood up and was about to leave when Eleanor stopped him.

“Well, will you be home for dinner?’ She asked, looking earnestly at her son. “I will be making roast beef you know. It’s your favourite,” Eleanor smiled.

_Now that was tempting._

“Of course!” Leif grinned at his mother, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world, Mother dearest.” With that, he left the house.

XXX

Loki watched as Leif left his house and started to make his way to the S.H.I.E.L.D building Loki had told him about earlier. He grinned.

_Good boy._

It would not be long now before Loki’s plans are put into action. All Leif needed to do would be to retrieve the pendant, wear it and then the powers that will be unleashed in him will be of immense help to Loki. He continued watching as Leif followed the directions given him dutifully. _The boy’s memory is excellent, like mine._ Loki thought again happily. _He would be good with magic._ He made up his mind to teach Leif some of his own signature tricks once he was free. After all, his magic was extremely useful. Even now, when he is being bound, he could still let his mind wander off into Earth and observe how his plans were working out.

Suddenly, Loki heard heavy footsteps trudging into the cave. _Oh no, not again._ His eyes flew open and set upon the large figure of Thor standing a metre’s length away from him.

“Good morning brother,” Thor began warmly, “I hope I did not disturb you? You seemed to be resting when I came in.” He continued in a worried tone. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Oh dear me, Thor, of course not. You were certainly not disturbing my sleep, if you were worried about that. After all, being bound to this rock, I have the opportunity and privilege of being able to catch my beauty sleep 24 hours a day.” Loki replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Thor appeared unfazed by Loki’s scornful answer.

“You know that you can end this, Loki. Father had said that he will end your imprisonment once you are willing to repent and make amends,” Thor said. Loki ignored him, as he always did. Since Loki was imprisoned, he had learnt the skill of blocking out sounds that annoyed him, to become oblivious to his surrounding if the situation calls for it.

  _So Thor thinks that he can torture me with his incessant droning, did he? Well too bad for him that I am highly adaptable._

“Brother! Are you listening?” Thor exclaimed, now in exasperation. _Oh goodie, things are about to get entertaining again._ Loki smirked. “You don’t have to do this,” Thor continued sadly, “We are your family, Loki, no matter what happens and what you have done. When we thought you died we mourned you for ages, and Father, I never truly saw him smile since we thought you dead.”

“Oh well, please forgive me for being the cause of Father not smiling!” Loki snapped, “And in any case, I believe the word ‘mourn’ does not mean what you think it means. Perhaps a better word that you were searching for would be ‘rejoice’.”

“Loki, do you really plan on being like this for the rest of your life?” Thor was vexed by his brother’s stubbornness and refusal to listen. He had tried to reach out to Loki repeatedly for the past two months and each time, the God of Lies had swiped his hand away.

“As much as I would love to stay here bound to this stupid rock for the rest of my life, Thor, I am afraid I can’t. I have other plans.” Loki smirked as Thor’s eyes grew wide.

“What plans Loki? What are you scheming this time? You are defeated, your armies have fallen. There is nothing else you can do!” Thor exclaimed in anger.

“Well, I may have failed the first time Thor, but I will try again and this time I will wreck your precious Earth.” Loki grinned slyly as Thor, incensed, took a step closer to his trapped brother. “I may be bound, imprisoned, but that will not stop me,” Loki continued. “I am not alone as you might think dear brother. Oh dear, did I just say that out loud?” Loki mocked, with a pretend expression of shock on his face. Thor was truly furious now.

“What do you mean, Loki? You have an ally on Earth? Who is he?” Thor roared while Loki seemed completely unaffected by this outburst of rage.

“Huh, what ally?” Loki asked with such an innocent face that made Thor fume even more.

“You will never be able to harm Earth, Loki, not on my watch,” Thor declared angrily at last, finally accepting the fact that Loki would not give him any more information. The God of Thunder then turned and strode out the cave furiously.

 _Looks like he is off to defend his precious little planet._ Loki thought as he watched his brother disappear from sight. The devious grin on his face grew even wider.

_Perfect. Brother dear has always so amazingly easy to manipulate. I believe it must be due to his mast abundance of stupidity._

Loki sighed in content as he gazed up at the cave’s ceiling. The plan was set now and it would not be long before he is free. Loki himself has set the gears of his scheme into motion. Now all he would have to do is wait for the results.

XXX

Leif glanced nervously at the towering building before him.

_So this is the building Loki talked about? It belongs to that organisation, S.H.I.E.L.D, whatever that is…_

Leif had a bad feeling about this. Even the entrance of the building was guarded and people who went in or out had to flash some identity card to pass. How the hell would he be able to get in? Break in through a window or something? As Leif approached the building cautiously, he suddenly felt a tingling feeling inside of him. Curious, he took a few steps closer and the feeling grew stronger. It was like something was calling out to him, something that caused the fear and nervousness in his heart to be replaced by pure curiosity and desire.

_The pendant always calls out to its true owner._

As Leif got closer to the building, the desire to break in and reach whatever that was beckoning to him inside of it grew stronger and stronger. At last, he couldn’t resist it anymore. He had to get in, regardless of the consequences. Leif strolled a few rounds around the building and realised that there was no easy way to sneak in. Therefore, he finally settled for a small, overlooked window at the back of the building near the alley way. He grabbed a metal pipe he had so fortunately found lying in the alley and swung it at the window with all the strength he could muster. The glass shattered with a deafening crash and Leif leapt inside, careful not to cut himself with the broken glass.

_So much for silent entrances._

As soon as Leif entered the building, the tingling feeling intensified. He started to run in a certain direction, uncertain of where he was going but strangely knowing that it would be the right path towards what he was searching for. It was as though there was a voice calling his name, and he simply followed it, following a set path. The alarms had sounded once Leif got into the building. S.H.I.E.L.D agents have all been alerted and had rushed to stop and apprehend this mysterious intruder. Leif was interrupted in his pursuit of the pendant by various men and women better trained and with bigger builds than his. However, Loki was right. Leif’s superior strength and lightning reflexes allowed him to overcome all these obstacles as he dashed madly forward towards the voice calling him.

After what seemed like hours, Leif finally reached the place he was searching for. It was a vault with a metal door, locked. Nonetheless, Leif knew very well that what he was looking for is definitely inside. It was calling him, even stronger and more intense than before. Leif approached the metal door, observing the high security door with a high tech padlock that he could not comprehend.

_Great, how does this thing work? Fingerprints?_

To get a better understanding of the lock, Leif bent down and started observing it at eye level. Obviously he was extremely shocked when the device suddenly scanned his eye and a mechanical voice chirped, “Personnel not recognised. Permission to enter denied.” _Wonderful, just wonderful! The contraption requires an eye ball!_ Leif thought angrily to himself. How could he possibly enter now?

Just then, there was a patter of footsteps and two other agents came charging towards him with Tasers in their hand. Leif evaded the first man as he swung the weapon towards the boy and slammed him violently against the wall, knocking him out promptly. The other man attempted to punch him but Leif managed to get the better of him and grabbed his arm. He proceeded to twist the struggling man’s arms behind his back, forcing him to drop his weapon.

 _Might as well try my luck._ Leif thought to himself as he forcefully dragged the agent toward the metal door and forced him to bend down at eye level with the lock device.

“Personnel recognised as Agent Bobby Tanner. Permission to enter granted.” The metal door swung open.

 _Finally!_ Leif thought as he crashed the man’s head against the door frame and watched as the unconscious man slump down limply on the floor. Leif walked into the vaults and was stunned momentarily at the numerous objects present there. There were items of all shapes and sizes, and all of them were labelled. Most of the tags read ‘highly dangerous’, some ‘extremely dangerous’ and others ‘lethal’. Leif did not bother not stop and muse at the various objects as he walked cautiously through the lanes of items. He continued walking and stopped when he reached the very object that was screaming out to him. A glowing violet pendant.

It was placed on a miniature stand on display and stood there, tempting and beckoning Leif to it. Leif was confounded by the sight of the relic. It was beautiful, familiar, enticing. Leif knew immediately that he wanted the pendant and what he must do. He must wear it. Leif reach his hand out and touched the pendant lightly. The glowing violet gem in the middle reacted to his touch, sending out sparks which flew in every direction. Encouraged by this, Leif closed his hand around the chain of the necklace and was prepared to lift it off the stand.

“Hold it right there kid.” A cold, sharp voice pierced through the silent room and Leif twisted his head around in shock. He found himself staring into the fiery eyes of a beautiful red headed woman standing a few metres away with a gun in her hands pointed at him. _Uh oh._

“Let go of the pendant. Put your hands behind your head and step away.” The woman gave quick curt orders, never once taking her eyes off Leif’s face. There was something extremely dangerous about this lady, something that tells Leif she should never be crossed. In addition, he did not really fancy the idea of having a bullet in his head. Grudgingly, Leif released the pendant and did as he was told.

 _Great, now what do I do? Say that I am sorry for breaking into their high security building and bashing up several of their agents?_ Leif thought bitterly to himself.

“Um, I am sorry?” Leif said lamely, seeing no other way out of this situation.

“Oh you will be,” the scarlet haired woman replied tartly as two other men entered the vault. “Cuff him,” she ordered to one of the men, still keeping her gun pointed at Leif’s forehead.

Leif felt his heart sink deeper as the man twisted his hands roughly behind his back and locked them in what seemed like another high tech metal cuff, or contraption to better describe it.

 _Damn, looks like I won’t be home for dinner after all,_ Leif thought gloomily to himself.

XXX

Leif sat at a long rectangular table in an otherwise empty room. Opposite him were five people, all sitting in a row. In the middle was a burly man with an eye patch over his left eye, looking terribly intimidating on his own. On his right was a stern looking young woman with her hair tied up in a bun that Leif, despite his terror, had thought to be really pretty. On the one eyed man’s left was a plain male agent who seemed to be rather amused by the situation. On the extreme right was the gorgeous red headed woman who had threatened to blow his head off earlier. A muscular looking man in a sleeveless suit was seated on the extreme left and he too, was observing Leif with interest.

Leif sighed, he hated interviews. This interrogation is exactly like an extremely tough board interview, except a million times worse. He couldn’t see how he can possibly squirm or lie his way out of this one. On a brighter note, he was no longer cuffed. The one eyed man had ordered the red haired lady to remove his cuffs earlier when they came in with the promise that they would not hesitate to shoot if Leif struggled. Therefore Leif had gladly behaved.

“So, who are you?”  The one eyed man broke the silence with his gruff voice, staring pointedly at Leif with his one good eye.

“Um… Leif Matthews.” Leif answered quietly, not knowing what else to say.

“Well okay, hello Leif,” the man said sarcastically, “And I am Nick Fury, the Director of the organisation S.H.I.E.L.D, whose headquarters you have broken into an hour earlier. However I believe that what I meant to ask is: Who are you, Leif Matthews? Why did you break into our building?”

 _So what do I say now?_ Leif thought in panic. To say that Loki sent him here in his dreams would probably earn him a one way ticket to the asylum. Perhaps he could bluff his way through?

“It… it was a dare, by my classmates. I was… um… given the task of entering the building. It was meant to be a harmless prank, honest.” Leif lied, stuttering between sentences. _Alright, that was extremely lame. There is no way they would believe this._ Director Fury’s eye brows lifted in amusement.

“A dare?” He repeated, not taking his eye off Leif. “Agent Coulson ( _it took a moment for Leif to realise he was addressing the man on his left),_ what do you think of the boy’s claim?”

“Well Director, I would be extremely mortified if it was true, to be honest. Considering the fact that the boy had managed to take down 23 of our top trained agents and unlock a highly guarded metal vault enhanced with our latest security technology and containing some of the most dangerous articles S.H.I.E.L.D has found to date, our security levels must have gotten pretty flimsy.” Agent Coulson replied with a tinge of amusement in his voice.

“What about you Agent Hill?” Director Fury turned towards the woman on his right. Agent Hill kept silent, but continued to glare sternly at Leif. He could not help but feel that she strongly resembled his first grade English teacher that he was rather scared of, a firm and no nonsense woman, just that Agent Hill was younger and prettier, of course.

“Agent Romanoff, please tell us what you saw in the vault when you apprehended the boy?” Director Fury continued, looking at the red headed woman. _Oh, so her name is Romanoff?_

“Well director, the boy was about to take the violet pendant, Article 256. He triggered a reaction from it; it had sparked when the boy touched the gem. This was a reaction we had never been able to extract from the pendant before.” Agent Romanoff said, her face expressionless.

“Thank you Agent Romanoff. Now Agent Barton, what can you tell us about the boy from what you have seen through the cameras in our control room.” Director Fury was now asking the man in the sleeveless suit.

“The boy’s reflexes were extremely fast and he is able to bring down even our largest agent who is twice his size with great ease. He knew exactly where to go, how to get to the vault. When he got inside, he went straight for the pendant.” Agent Barton concluded.

_Damn. Looks like there really is no way out of this one._

“So Leif Matthews, you expect us to believe that you broke into the building for a simple dare when you are obviously well trained in combat and know our building’s layout like the back of your hand? I call that bull shit. You’d better tell us the truth, Leif. Stop playing games. We are not patient people here.” Director Fury glared at Leif, who was now positively terrified and intimidated. He glanced around at all five of his interrogators; all of them looked like they would eat him alive if they could.

_Looks like I have to tell the truth._

“Okay, fine!” Leif started in despair, resigned to his situation. “I was told by… a man (Leif wasn’t sure he should say Loki is his father, after all it was not confirmed yet) to break into the building and retrieve the pendant,” Leif explained. “My pendant,” he added defensively. All five interrogators raised their eyebrows in surprise at this statement.

“Your pendant?” Director Fury questioned, repeating Leif’s words.

“Well, yeah. It was given to me when I was a baby by that man but it was stolen. Then in some way or another it ended up here. That’s what the man told me.” Leif shrugged. That was the truth after all.

“Well now that it is here, it is a property of S.H.I.E.L.D. Besides, unless you have proof of the pendant’s ownership I do not think you can simply claim it to be yours. In any case, this does not explain your combat skills and how you know our building so well.” Director Fury glowered.

“I was not trained in combat… it was just something like a natural skill okay?” Leif argued, ignoring their sceptical looks. “And I didn’t know the way around the building, the pendant called to me. I am serious! The pendant sort of called out to me and showed me the way to it. I simply followed its directions.” Director Fury and the rest of the agents stared incredulously at Leif, and then finally, the Director broke the awkward silence surrounding them.

“Agent Hill, could you please go and check if this boy had any records in any existing mental institutes?” Director Fury said wearily.

“I am not crazy!” Leif exclaimed with anger and indignation.

_Damn! What would he have to do to get them to believe him?_

“The pendant!” Leif blurted out, “It reacts to me! You saw it yourself didn’t you?” Leif looked pleadingly at Agent Romanoff, willing her to back his story up. The red headed woman blinked in astonishment at his question before nodding.

“Well he’s got a point about that, Director.” She said pointedly to Fury, who still didn’t look convinced.

“The man had told me that the pendant would only call out and react to its owner. I am serious Sir.” Leif continued solemnly, frantically praying inside that they would believe him. He really did not fancy being locked up in an asylum.

“Alright,” Director Fury finally said. “Assuming what you have said is the truth (Leif gave a sigh of relief), then who is this mysterious man who told you this?” Leif was stunned at this question, what should he say now? Somehow he had a bad feeling about mentioning Loki’s name to them. “Where is he?” Director Fury continued impatiently as Leif remained silent.

“I… I don’t know, Sir.” Leif said lamely, not daring to look at Fury or any of his interrogators.

“Well, did he send you any letters, emails or texts?” Agent Coulson piped up. Leif simply shook his head. “Then, did you two meet up at any place?” Coulson continued probing.

“Well, yeah. Sort of,” Leif mumbled quietly as both Coulson and Fury lifted their eye brows expectantly. “Um… we met in my dreams.” Leif saw Director Fury’s face turn absolutely black, which really said something considering his already dark skin colour. Both Agent Hill and Agent Coulson stared at him incredulously while Agent Romanoff was wearing an extremely mocking smirk. The sides of Agent Barton’s lips have curled upwards and it seemed like he was fighting a raging internal battle not to laugh.

 _Fuck. Now they think I really am crazy._ Leif thought furiously to himself, feeling his face grow hot as he felt thoroughly embarrassed by what he had said.

“Okay, so you met in your dreams. Well, do you just happen to know the name of your dream guy?” Fury asked sarcastically while Agent Romanoff attempted to stifle a snigger. Indignation and rage welled up inside of Leif as he watched his mocking interrogators. _Damn it._ At that moment, he simply didn’t care anymore. What’s the point of keeping Loki’s name from them? It’s not like they believed him anyway!

“Yeah, I do. His name is Loki.” Leif snapped scornfully. However, at the very moment these words left his mouth, he knew that it was a bad mistake. The smirks and sniggers on all five of the Agents’ face were wiped off instantly and replaced with looks of utter horror. Leif felt his insides turn cold at this sight.

_Oh god, what have I done?_

“Hill, Coulson, go inform the others to stand on alert immediately. We have a situation on our hands.” Director Fury ordered silently, fixing his gaze on the boy before him who had never before in his life, felt so small.


	5. Chapter 5

Director Nick Fury was in his office at the top of the S.H.I.E.L.D building, taking a well-deserved break from all the ridiculous things that had been happening lately. Life as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D was tough, no doubt about it.

Two months ago he had to assemble the Avengers, a group of physically and emotionally unstable people with extraordinary powers to fight a power hungry psycho. He gave up the project Phase 2 as he had realised how dangerous the Tesseract had been and because of that, nearly lost his position as Director.

_Damn those podgy old councillors._

Nick and his team had worked tediously for the past two months to restore the city back to its usual state and ensure there were no further threats as Loki was shipped back to Asgard and imprisoned there (thankfully). In addition they had to prevent further secrets of Loki and the identities of the Avengers from leaking out. Now, finally when things were starting to calm down, this mysterious boy broke into his high security building as easily as though it was a house of cards and said that Loki sent him.

 _Loki_.

Nick gave a weary sigh and gazed out of his office at New York City's skylines. His office was strategically positioned such that he could get a clear view of the city. Nick had designed the interior of his office himself and ordered that the walls of his office facing the city were replaced with clear transparent glass. It was beautiful, if he would say so himself and no matter how many times Tony Stark had insisted that his office was far superior, Nick's office's design had offered the Director some leisure and peace when he admired the city view.

 _Just two months ago Loki had reduced the city into a smoking wreck._ Nick thought angrily to himself.  _And all because he thought it would be grand. Fun._ He almost spat that last word out in disgust.  _That sick, cold blooded bastard._

Nick had ordered Phil Coulson to search for any information related to the boy, Leif Matthews, and to be sure to probe into his relationship with Loki. Maria Hill was sent to escort Dr Bruce Banner here to New York once more from one of S.H.I.E.L.D's top secret laboratories in which he had been conducting research for the organisation. Nick had an idea that he would come in handy. Didn't he prove just that during the last battle where he flung Loki around like a rag? Clint Barton had offered to guard the boy and Natasha Romanoff was now commanding a troop of agents to guard the pendant.

Nick wasn't going to take any chances. It took ages to restore the peace back to New York City, he thought as he admired the beautiful skylines once more, and he is sure as hell that he would do whatever it takes to stop Loki from disturbing it again. Nick Fury was sitting there in his arm chair, feeling pretty good and confident about his resolve when a sudden deafening shatter of the glass walls of his office sent him sprawling on the floor. Thinking that Loki had somehow managed to blast a monster or troll of some sort into his office, he instinctively reached for his gun and pointed it at the tall bulky figure before him. It took some time for him to compose himself and for the bit of smoke to clear up before he finally recognised the man standing before him.

"Thor!" Nick gasped as he stared at the God of Thunder in disbelief.

"Greetings Director Fury, I have come bearing grave news!" Thor exclaimed solemnly. Nick's eye flicked over to the ground behind the god where shattered pieces of his once beautiful window lay.

"Yeah, well, have a seat before you tell me about the grave news." Nick sighed disconcertedly. Thor, looking confused about Nick's less than anxious reaction to his words, sat down on one of the armchairs opposite Nick's desk just as Natasha came bursting through the door.

"Director, are you alright?" She cried and then seemed stunned at the god's presence.

"Well yes, Agent Romanoff. The crash was simply Thor here hurtling through the windows. There is no cause for alarm." Nick said in a tired voice.  _Damn, he was tired. And he nearly had a heart attack._  "Would you mind entering the building through the doors next time Thor? We have a main entrance."

"Director," Thor begun in a mortified voice. "I am afraid you did not catch what I said when I first came in, I have grave and urgent news. Loki is scheming something again and I fear that the Earth will be in peril if we don't stop it. He has leaked out the fact that he has an ally, here on Earth, who may wreak chaos if Loki himself calls for it. We must locate this ally." Thor finished giving both Nick and Natasha anxious glances.

"Well Thor, I believe we have Loki's ally locked up right here in this building for you," Natasha smiled wryly as Thor's eyes widened in amazement at her sentence.

XXX

Clint Barton leant against the metal railing of the circular platform he was in as he watched the door of Leif's cell with rapt attention. The platform was designed to rise up close to the ceiling, giving Hawkeye the bird's eye view of the entire floor of the building level. It allowed him to put, with ease, arrows through intruders into that level or the boy himself if he managed to escape from the locked room.

 _This boy is a strange one._ Clint thought to himself, never taking his eyes off the door.  _He seems very familiar somehow, but I just can't put my mind as to where I have seen him before._

From the corner of his eye, Clint saw Director Fury, Natasha and to his surprise, Thor, entering the level in a capsule lift. He pushed a button to lower the circular platform to ground level and stepped out to meet them.

"Whoa, easy there Barton," Natasha teased in a mocking voice. "Thor and I are here with the permission of Director Fury to visit the prisoner."

"Well, it's a good thing you mentioned it or I may have had to shoot both of you down," Clint chuckled good-naturedly.

"Do you really think that you could take down the great Thor with so puny an arrow?" Thor exclaimed with indignation. Natasha sniggered and Clint was about to shoot back a retort when Nick glared at the three of them.

"Could you guys keep it down? The prisoner is inside." Nick emphasised on the last word. _This meant that he is inside the room listening to your little spat and snickering away._ Nick bent down and allowed the machine to scan his eye in order to open the door. This particular door was reprogrammed to respond only to his eye, only his. He would like to see if anyone dared to take his one last eyeball away from him to open the damned door. He would fight them to the death over it.

The door swung open and Nick and the three Avengers stepped into the room. Leif was sitting on the bed, the only furniture provided inside, and he appeared shocked by the sight of them.

_Oh my god, is he the person they have hired to torture me for information?_

Leif’s stomach churned with fright at the sight of Thor. And it was a fairly reasonable fright. Standing tall and muscular with his icy blue eyes glaring at the boy, Thor looked like a wild beast, ready to pounce. Despite that, the boy had a stubborn sense of pride that forbade him to show his fear.

"So you are Leif?" Thor asked in a gruff voice. The boy simply nodded. "Loki sent you here?"

"Yeah well, he told me to find the pendant." Leif said in the most casual tone he could muster. "Look, I am really sorry that I broke into the building okay. If you guys could just let me go, I will leave and I won't bother you again, or tell anyone about this." Leif said, in attempts to bargain with his captors.

 _Okay, so this is obviously not going to work._  Leif thought, his heart heavy as Thor, Nick, Natasha and Clint continued glaring at him wordlessly.

"What is your relationship to Loki?" Thor demanded. Leif was absolutely dumbfounded. How is he supposed to answer that? He had seen their reactions to the mere mention of Loki's name. To say that he might be his son would be to court death.

"I am not related to him in any way," Leif lied as he always did and put on his most innocent expression for good measure.

"Don't lie to me boy. Director Fury had told me that Loki visited you in your dreams and that you have extraordinary reflexes and strength. You are no ordinary human." Thor said with his electric blue eyes boring into Leif's. Leif is starting to feel bemused.

_So they are going to grill me all night for information?_

The boy decided that since there was no way out of this there wouldn't be any harm being more spiteful in his answers.

"Well, I don't know? How do you think I am related to him?" Leif snapped back, irritated and glaring at the taller and bigger Norse god standing before him. Thor, somehow, was surprised by the kid's retort. Even Natasha gave an amused smile, impressed by Leif's guts.

"Wha-?" That was all Thor could say in his befuddled state. Leif took a look at his interrogator's blur expression and gave one of his usual smirks, however he quickly realised that this was a wrong move on his part.

Firstly, Nick Fury's eye widened so much that it looked like it would bulge and pop out from its socket; Leif would have found it extremely comical if the situation had not been so serious. Natasha gave a shocked gasp. Clint muttered a stunned "Holy crap" and took a step back from the boy. Thor's eyes, on the other hand, grew wide open as the God of Thunder charged towards the petrified boy and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Thor roared, his electric blue eyes flashing dangerously. Leif lost all that was left of his forced bravado and broke down completely, scared to death by this fearsome man.

"I… I … Loki said that… he said that I am his son." Leif stuttered in terror and saw the blonde haired man's eyes fill with horror. Thor released the boy and took a step back from him.

"Thor, I think we need to talk," Director Fury said calmly as he laid a hand on Thor's shoulder and led him out of the room. Natasha and Clint followed and the door swung close again, leaving Leif alone in the room.

XXX

"Do you believe that, Thor? Is it true? Does Loki really have a son? Come on, you know Loki better than the rest of us combined." Nick asked the disgruntled Norse god, who seemed to be in a stunned stupor. The four of them had made a hasty retreat to Nick's office, astounded by what they have seen and heard.

"I don't know Director. Loki never told me he had a son." Thor finally admitted.  _And I don't know Loki more than any of you, not any more, at least._ He thought sadly to himself.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but when that boy gave that awful grin, he looked exactly like Loki. Green eyes flashing, twisted smile." Natasha shuddered at the thought of that. She still had nightmares of her conversation with Loki, of how he brought up her darkest secrets and threatened to kill her in the most torturous way imaginable.  _You mewling quim._

"Well, when he smirked, I thought for a moment that Loki had possessed him." Clint said, still disconcerted by what had happened.

"You know what I think? I think that we have to get to the bottom of this, to find out if he really is Loki's son. There will be a lot of trouble if he is." Nick Fury declared. "Agent Romanoff, please go and inform Captain Rogers that a situation has popped up and we need him here now." Natasha nodded and left the room. "Agent Barton, guard the boy, make sure he does not escape. Take him down if necessary (Thor made a grunt in protest at this statement; after all, that kid might be his brother's son). Well, damn, tranquilize him then." Clint gave a salute and went out of the room promptly.

"Now Thor, you and I, we will have to pay Stark a visit and request for his help in this." Thor nodded and both he and Nick were about to leave the office when Phil Coulson came bounding in with some documents.

"Oh hey boss, you about to leave for something?" Phil asked in surprise as he set the documents on Nick's desk.

"Yes Phil," Nick said grimly as he gazed at the documents placed on his table. "So you have gotten the information about this boy?"

"Well yes, so far I have gathered that he is the son of Oliver and Eleanor Matthews, a normal couple who reside at the edge of New York City. Leif Matthews goes to Riverside High School, joined the basketball team, football team, chess club and generally excelled at these activities. His grades are above average. He has no criminal records up to date and also no existing medical or mental problems." Phil reported, leafing through the documents he brought in. "I found out that he is rather bad at music though, it's the only class he managed to fail." He added brightly.

"So these are his parents?" Nick asked as he flipped through Oliver and Eleanor's photos, noting suspiciously that Leif had looked nothing like them.

"About that boss, they are not his real parents. Matthews is adopted. We have yet to find out who his birth parents are." Phil answered matter of factly. Nick set the documents down and looked seriously at Phil.

"Well damn Phil, ignore all other areas about this boy. Focus on his true birth parentage. We suspect that he might be Loki's son." Nick said grimly.

"Okay boss." Phil blinked in surprise at this piece of information.

_Damn it, this kid is that maniac's son?_

Phil could feel the old wound in his chest tingling painfully again. As the agent turned to leave the room, Nick called out to him.

"By the way Phil, we are about to go to Stark's house to seek his help in this matter. Would you like to come along? You are on closer terms with him after all."

Phil grimaced. "Not anymore boss. After the incident where I feigned my death to motivate the Avengers to get together, he got rather angry at me when he realised I was still alive. Called me a two faced, sneaky, lying bastard." He sniffed indignantly at this point. "To be honest, I don't really fancy meeting him any time soon. Besides, I have to get more information about the boy." Nick nodded as Phil left the room. He understood. Tony can be a real brat if he got touchy about some matters, and Phil feigning his death to trick Tony happened to be, well, one of those matters.

"Well Thor, let's get going." Nick said as he and Thor made their way to a soon-to-be irritated Tony's house.

XXX

Tony Stark lay on the circular couch in his living room, thoroughly exhausted. It had been an extremely long day for him. After several business meetings, press conferences and a particularly long board meeting with the annoying old directors of Stark Industries, Tony was absolutely worn out. He was not made of iron you know, despite his super hero alias. And then Tony had come home, looking forward to some well-deserved rest and quality snuggle time with Pepper, when he found a note left on the tea table for him by the strawberry blonde.

'Dear Tony,' it had read, 'I had to leave urgently today to visit my Mother who had a heart attack. She is fine now thankfully, but I still have to pay her a visit. Will be back in two days' time. XOXO Pepper.'

Tony was utterly bemused as he stared at the note. Two days without Pepper?  _Damn, I am the one who is about to get a heart attack._ Why couldn't Pepper leave tomorrow morning and come back by night? Tony would have gladly given her unpaid leave. Didn't she know that snuggle time comes first before all emergencies? Thus Tony was left with no other choice then to sprawl on his couch and groan.

"Are you alright Sir?" Jarvis piped up, obviously disturbed by his master's distress.

"Well no Jarvis," Tony grumbled. "I’ve been through stupid, annoying meetings and conferences all day, enduring questions from stupid and annoying people the entire time. And now," he started waving Pepper's note around. "I have to endure two whole days without Pepper. Could things possibly get any worse?"

"Why I am afraid the answer to your question is yes, Sir. Director Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D and Mr Thor Odinson from Asgard have just intruded into our mansion." Jarvis replied in his usual monotonous voice. This caused Tony to jolt right up.

_Curse my big mouth._

"Well damn Jarvis, don't just sit there and do nothing. Stop them! Increase security on the main doors and confuse Fury with the riddle of the Sphinx!" Tony groaned in exasperation. The last thing he needed now was another visit by Fury, which definitely spelt trouble.

"Too late Sir," his mechanical butler had replied as Tony turned and watched bemusedly while Nick and Thor strode into the room.

_Damn, another security breach._

Tony firmly decided that he would have to increase the security levels of his home and office building from now on.

"You know Director, I find it extremely disconcerting that you people from S.H.I.E.L.D find it fit to walk happily in and out of my property without my permission. Phil Coulson intruded my office two months ago and now you deem it fit to do the same to my home?" Tony complained to a nonchalant Nick. Then he pointed at Thor, who was grinning, somewhat stupidly at his friend. "And look! You have brought Goldilocks with you! What does this look like? The house of the three bears?"

"What's a Goldilock?" Thor asked, confused by Tony's words. Tony literally face palmed while Nick glared at the sarcastic billionaire.

"Ignore him Thor. Have a seat." Nick said, gesturing to the circular couch which Thor happily sat on. Now it was Tony's turn to glare at the one-eyed man.

"You know Director? Considering the fact that this is my home and that this is my couch, I believe I should be the one offering the seats." Tony pointed out.

"Well Stark, considering the fact that you did not seem about to offer us any, I took it upon myself to offer both me and Thor the seats." Nick replied simply, planting himself firmly on the seat directly across Tony.

"Fine then, but I am not going to offer you people any drinks. Why are you here? Make it short and sweet." Tony snapped in irritation. Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement at the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist's aggravation while Thor simply looked, well, even more befuddled by this conversation.

"Stark, an urgent situation has come up. We need your help again-" Nick started but was soon annoyingly cut off by Tony.

"Well then, if this is more S.H.I.E.L.D matters, which is the rather obvious reason for your unwanted presence in my house by the way, then I shall only have one thing to say to you: Consultation time is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays." Tony said matter-of-factly, once again earning himself dagger sharp glares from Fury.

"Tony, please! This is an emergency!" Thor piped up urgently. "Loki is up to his usual schemes again and we need you to help us stop it."

"Loki?" Tony perked up at the sound of the villain's name.

"Yes, Loki." Director Fury repeated in a tired voice. "He has sent a boy into S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters to steal a mysterious pendant containing enormous power and he almost succeeded. The boy is now in our custody and we suspect that he might be Loki's son. We need your help in the investigation as well as to ensure that the boy does not escape in any possible situation." Tony listened incredulously to Nick's words.

"You mean S.H.I.E.L.D's security was so flimsy that a boy managed to intrude the building and steal some magical enchanted what not?" Tony finally asked, as though it was the only thing that held his concern.

"Tony, the boy might be my brother's son, meaning he would have inherited Asgardian strength and reflexes." Thor defended as Nick seemed utterly exasperated and had refused to talk to Tony further. "If that was the case it would not be hard to break through their defences, as I myself have proved the year before." The god finished, casting a nervous glance sideways at Nick.

"Well, fine then. The boy may be Loki's son. He may be ultra-strong and could possibly run amok in the city, tearing down buildings. However as you yourself have said; you have him in custody now, don't you? What do you need me for?" Tony threw the question in the tired Director's direction.

"To help guard and interrogate him, Tony. We have been unable to obtain further information from the boy regarding Loki's schemes. You are a genius, aren't you? Then you may be able to get more information out of him." Nick replied. "You will not be the only one though," he added quickly, not wanting the man's ego to swell up like a balloon in front of him. "Arrangements have been made for Dr Bruce Banner to be escorted to headquarters tomorrow where he will be working along with us. Furthermore, considering the fact that the boy may be Loki's son, we need all the help we can get to guard him. That's where the Iron Man suit will come in handy. Captain Rogers will be called in as well."

"I don't really feel like working with gramps again," Tony grimaced slightly. "But Dr Banner on the other hand," he added lightly. "Delightful guy, full of interesting surprises… I like him! We will get along just fine!" Tony gave a grin. Nick glared suspiciously at the narcissistic man. Something tells him that Tony can be as dangerous as Loki when left along with Bruce. He made his mind up NEVER to leave the two of them together alone.

"Well, I need you in ASAP tomorrow in the morning. What time can I expect you to be there?" Nick asked grimly.

"Oh I don't know. I will be rather busy tomorrow you know, upgrading and perking up security levels in my house and office to deter any more unwanted visitors. I will give you a call after lunch to confirm the timing." Tony said casually while Nick resisted the strong urge to strangle him. Thor on the other hand, looked confounded again.

"I am sorry Tony, but I believe the Midgardian term 'lunch' is used to describe meal times in the afternoon. Director Fury requested you to come in the morning, if you call after lunch it might be too late. Perhaps you have misunderstood?" Thor said helpfully. Tony rolled his eyes.

"My, thank you so much Thor. I had no idea what the term 'lunch' meant." Tony replied sarcastically.

"8 a.m. sharp in the morning." Nick barked curtly. "No protests Tony (the billionaire had opened his mouth to fire back some snarky retort at this point). It is within consultation time then, and I have the feeling that we will need all the time that you can give." With that, Nick rose up from the sofa and Thor did the same.

"Let's go Thor, I believe Tony needs rest. It's better for him to be sharp and alert tomorrow than groggy and grumpy." After casting one last glare at the affronted Tony, Nick and Thor left the Stark Mansion.

Tony sat alone in his living room, the smirk on his face faded and now replaced with a frown.

_Loki. Damn that asshole._

Tony still hasn't gotten over the fact that his beloved Stark Towers was completely trashed during the alien invasion as Loki had chosen it as the stage for his grand finale. _Of all places, MY Stark Towers._  Of course it had taken only 3 days and 17 hours for the Iron Man to fix and patch the building up, even better than before. However the God of Mischief had inflicted quite a lasting dent on Tony's pride.

_And now the bastard is up to something again._

"Jarvis?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Prepare me a nice warm bath. I am going to need all the relaxing I can get tonight for tomorrow's excruciating task."


	6. Unleashed

Leif's eyes swept furiously across the green and silvery mist around him; searching for the man he would particularly enjoy swinging a punch at right now. He was steamed. Furious.

Regardless of what had happened before, it had been Loki's war, and his alone. However, now he had dragged Leif into this mess and the boy did not see any easy way out of it, short of being sent to jail for trespassing and stealing or being locked up in an asylum due to having hallucinations. Leif had actually managed to fall asleep in the cold, empty cell that night (forced himself to sleep actually). He was determined to meet Loki again and to give him a piece of his mind, a really big one. Loki had claimed to be his father didn't he? Well, he'd better  _father_ Leif out of this one.

"Hello son," Loki's smug voice pierced through the air as he appeared in front of the angry boy. "My, you seem to be rather… miffed today." He gave an evil looking grin as he glanced at Leif's furious face.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Leif replied tartly. He was in no mood for jokes now. Things were serious and Loki seemed to understand. The grin on the god's face faded and he gave Leif an amused look.

"I am amazed you have managed to fall asleep in that cell. It cannot possibly be due to exhaustion," Loki smiled to his son. "So you wanted to meet me?" Leif rolled his eyes at his father.

_Uh yeah, well, duh!_

"I want you to get me out of this mess," Leif demanded curtly. Loki, however, gave a snigger which threw Leif into a rage.  _What is so funny?_

"You got me into this! Those people, they are keeping me here because of you! Because they know that I am related to you! I demand that you help me out of this!" Leif shouted angrily at Loki. "Besides, you claimed to be my father, didn't you? What kind of father stands there sniggering while his son is in danger?" Leif added scornfully.

"My dear son, I have asked you to retrieve the [pendant](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/6/Son-of-Loki), not to stumble into those fools' hands and get yourself caged," Loki smirked. "It looks like you have a lot to learn about stealth and discretion, after all, smashing a window with a metal pipe is not the quietest way to sneak in." Leif was about to make some sort of an angry protest when Loki stopped him. "And I cannot help you Leif," Loki said, a little more seriously now, although there was still a smile on his face. "We are worlds apart and my situation here in Asgard is no better than yours."

 _So this is it?_ Leif thought in despair. Even Loki, the God of Trickery cannot save him?

"However, this does not mean that your life is in danger. In fact, it is far from that." Loki added lightly. Leif's ear perked up at this. Whatever could Loki mean?

"You remember that boorish man with tangled blonde hair and blue eyes?" Loki reminded Leif gently. Leif nodded, his stomach clenching at the memory of that terrifying man. "Well, as long as he is present, your life will not be in danger." Loki continued simply. Leif was stunned.

"Are you kidding? He looked like the one who would be the most likely to kill me on the spot." Leif argued but the God of Mischief merely grinned.

"Oh he is a crude and unruly individual. Extremely impulsive but also terribly simple minded and if you need a better term, stupid, as well. Very easy to  _manipulate_ ," Loki emphasised on the last word.  _Was he trying to hint something?_   _"_ I know how he is, and I know him well. He will not harm you Leif, as long as he knows that you are my son and he will stop the others from doing so as well. You can be sure of that." Loki assured the doubtful boy, his voice certain and firm. Yes, Loki knew Thor very well.

"Besides, you are very close to your goal now." Loki smiled slyly at Leif, who seemed affronted by his father's words.

"I am locked up in a room…"

"You are locked up in a room IN the building, Leif," Loki corrected him. "You are inside, closer to the pendant then you ever were. Never think that this will be the end because there will always be a way out. You simply need to get the pendant." Loki grinned deviously. Leif was confused.

"But I don't see how… oh!" Leif started but then stopped as the meaning behind Loki's words dawned on him. He knew exactly what he needed to do now.

"Remember Leif, you are my son. You have inherited my gifts. Use them well." Loki smirked. "I have to get going now, it looks like you will be having company." With that, Loki disappeared and the green and silvery mist faded away as Leif woke up from his sleep.

_Use the old silver tongue well Leif, use it well._

As if on cue, the metal door to his cell swung open and Director Fury, along with the Romanoff woman, the blonde giant and another man Leif did not know walked in. The new stranger had an average build, not as tall or lanky as Leif and there was a certain air about him that Leif disliked immensely. Leif turned his attention from the new man to the blonde giant once more, eyeing him with equal distaste as he remembered how this man had terrified him out of his wits. Leif bore grudges. However, Loki had said that this man would be his form of protection and Leif decided to trust his (not yet confirmed) father.

The day before, Leif had been terrified of these people, not knowing what to do or which direction to head in. However his brief meeting with Loki had restored the boy's confidence and he is back to his usual calm sarcastic self. Leif was now determined to resort to anything, any lie, to get to the pendant.

"So this is the kid? What's his name, Leaf or something like that?" The new stranger piped up in an annoying voice that made Leif hate him more.

"My name is Leif," Leif retorted coldly.

"Well pardon me Leaf," the man replied in an irritatingly polite manner, making the boy scowl.

"So you are Loki's son?" The annoying man continued while Leif glared at him coldly, ignoring his questions. "Well then, you must have met your uncle, the God of Thunder, Thor?" He waved his hand towards the blonde man and Leif's eyes widened in surprise. So this man is Loki's brother? The God of Thunder, Leif's uncle? Leif fully understood what his father had meant earlier now, about how Thor would protect him, and he gave a satisfied smirk. Leif could just make all of this work out fine after all.

"And I," The annoying man said smugly, "am Tony Stark. You may call me Mr Stark."

_So this man is Tony Stark? Interesting. Time to have a little fun. It won't hurt, considering how they would not let me go anyway._

"Oh I've heard of you," Leif grinned evilly. "The owner of Stark Enterprises. They say you are a narcissistic, egoistic, snarky, sarcastic asshole." He gave another smirk as the offended Tony glared at him, and then at Natasha who appeared to be snickering at the back. Tony then turned to Nick Fury, whose lip corners seem to be twitching up as well.

"Definitely Loki's son. No doubt about it. Can I go now?" Tony snapped at the director and the man glared back.

"Tony, be serious. This is not a laughing matter." Nick Fury growled at the irritated Stark.

"I don't see how I can be more serious than this!" Tony retorted scornfully. He pointed at Leif who was sitting on the bed with a most innocent expression on his face, appearing to be surprised by the situation. "Everything about him screams 'Loki'. Loki, Loki, Loki." The Iron Man said sarcastically, pointing first at Leif's jet black hair, emerald green eyes and then waved his hand down the full length of the boy's body for good measure.

"So you are my uncle?" Leif asked the stunned Thor in a bored voice, blatantly ignoring Tony's burst of outrage at him. The Thunder God looked surprised that Leif was addressing him.

"I guess so, if you are Loki's son." Thor replied, casting doubtful looks at the boy.  _Perfect. Maybe I could drive a little spike into the group._

"Well, Loki is my father," Leif confirmed while maintaining eye contact with Thor, (ignoring Tony's "I told you so!") "And I guess that does make you my uncle. So we are family." Leif gave Thor what seemed like a really sincere smile. Leif's teachers, who have known the rascal for a long time, and Tony knew better of course (Tony was mumbling something that sounded like "That kid is up to something," under his breath). However, Thor, being Thor, gave Leif a tiny smile back. Leif secretly mused about how Loki was right; Thor may be strong and terrifying on the outside but he is a huge bag of sentiment at the core.

_That's good. Really good. I like sentiment._

"Are you going to let them lock me up like this forever?" Leif asked the Norse god, his eyes pleading. Thor looked confounded.

"You broke into S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters and tried to steal the pendant." Nick Fury pointed out grimly, seeing that Thor did not know what to say.

"I did break in," Leif argued. "But it was not to steal. It was to take back what rightfully belongs to me. The pendant was mine."

"Yeah, 'was', kid. The keyword here is 'was'." Tony piped up sarcastically. "And you were helping Loki with his evil scheme to destroy the Earth and what not. You are not exactly the innocent one here."

"I wasn't!" Leif exclaimed somewhat indignantly. "Loki, my Father, simply told me to retrieve the pendant. He told me it could show me who I truly was. I believed him and was curious. He said that it was the only keepsake he left for me and I just wanted it back. When I got near the building the pendant just called to me and I couldn't think properly. Before I knew it, I was charging in. I meant no harm. " He ended and looked sadly at Thor, whose gaze softened. Thor remembered how he had broken into S.H.I.E.L.D's base the year before as well, desperate to retrieve the Mjolnir, wanting to regain his identity. Thor too, had meant no harm and perhaps this boy was the same?

 _I hope that did the trick. It was the truth after all, well, half of it was._  Leif thought, forcing himself to maintain his innocent expression when he was really, grinning on the inside. Leif had conveniently left out the part about the pendant unlocking his powers; he had a vague idea that it would not be beneficial to his plan. No, for now he would just focus on the sentimental value of the pendant. It was true however that he did not plan on destroying Earth. The very idea was utterly ridiculous.

Tony gave a smirk at the sight of Leif's puppy dog eyes.  _This kid is trying to bluff his way through by sentiment,_ Tony Stark scorned at the idea _. There was no way that this is going to work; we are all logical and clear headed people here._ Or that was what he thought.

Thor turned to Nick Fury. "Perhaps the boy really meant no harm?" The god suggested gently, his voice uncertain while Nick stared incredulously at him.

Tony could have face palmed on the spot _. Looks like the kid knew what he was doing after all._

XXX

Steve Rogers stared in surprise as a grim faced Nick, disgruntled Thor, furious Tony and amused Natasha left the cell of the boy prisoner.

"Looks like they have made no progress," Clint commented dryly. Hawkeye was standing next to Steve on the circular platform as both of them had guarded the room. Personally, Steve had felt that the high level of security to guard the boy was exaggerated and uncalled for. However Nick had been so unnerved by Loki in the alien war earlier that the director had deemed anything or anyone associated with the wayward god to be a cause for a Level 7 emergency. "In fact, it looks like the boy had been the one who made progress," Hawkeye muttered bemusedly as Tony turned and started berating Thor while the god retorted something back angrily. Captain America pushed the button to lower the platform and headed over with Clint to see what the commotion was about.

"How could you possibly be so stupid?" Tony spat out scornfully. "It is so obvious that the boy is lying."

"He is just a boy Tony! He could have been innocent. Loki could have manipulated him, like he had manipulated us in the past!" Thor argued furiously.

"Oh I am sure Loki's son needed a lot of manipulation, Thor!" Tony sneered as Thor moved a step closer to him, towering over the Man of Iron, who had of course, looked a whole lot smaller without his suit. Nick stepped in firmly between them.

"Okay, this is enough!" Nick barked. "We will talk in my office." He glared at both the Norse god and billionaire, as though daring them to argue with him. When both men had remained silent, Nick walked off, leading the way.

"You go ahead," Clint nodded to Steve. "I will guard him. I am curious about what has happened as well. Be a sport and tell me when you get back okay?" With that the master archer grinned and walked back towards the circular platform. Steve followed the particularly glum party of people back to Fury's office where an awkward silence consumed the room.

"You know what?" Natasha finally pointed out. "This is exactly like the time we had Loki locked up in that glass enclosure. We are arguing among ourselves again." _Again._

"Thank you Natasha!" Tony exclaimed. "Finally, someone with enough brains to see the truth!" He glared pointedly at Thor.

"You know Thor, I think Tony is right." Nick said finally, looking at the indignant god.

"Director Fury, the boy, Leif, he is a child. Even if he is Loki's son, he has not done anything to harm anyone yet. He could have been manipulated by Loki, tricked by my brother to do his bidding." Thor argued, and Nick had to acknowledge that there was a valid point in his argument.

"You guys want to know what I think?" Steve interrupted, "I may not have been in the room, but I believe the most important issue here is if this boy really is Loki's son and what Loki wants from him. We can't know for sure. The boy might not even know all of that if he is being manipulated." The others considered what he said thoughtfully and after arguing for another 5 minutes and 36 seconds, it was decided that Thor should return to Asgard to confront Loki himself.

"Thor, please! Use the door! You can fly after you have left the building!" Nick, anxious about his newly repaired glass window, had exclaimed out to the God of Thunder, who was just about to take off. Thor looked affronted and left (thankfully for Nick) through the doors as the director heaved a sigh of relief. After the god left, Steve turned to Tony.

"So, what had happened in there?" Steve asked a still grumpy Tony.

"Oh you know, the Loki usual." The billionaire grumbled. "The boy widened his eyes and batted his eye lashes innocently at Thor and the fool fell for it at once."

"He sounds like an interesting character," Steve mused. "I wish I could have seen him myself."

"Oh believe me, you will regret it. Seriously. That kid is a terror! A nightmare! The way he smirks… ugh!" Tony exclaimed dramatically. "Please don't allow Dr Banner into the kid's room Director. Not like I fear for the boy's safety but trust me, it won't be fun for everyone."

XXX

Leif was once again alone in the empty room, thinking. He had done it, he grinned to himself. He had started a crack amongst them. He knew it the moment Thor turned to Director Fury and pled for the boy's innocence.

_Step 1 complete._

Now the real problem was Step 2. He didn't see how he could possibly trick that stern one eyed man into letting him near the pendant. Step 1 had ensured that he gave them enough problems to deal with for the time being (such as having squabbles about his innocence as they had done outside his cell while Leif eavesdropped with amusement) without bothering the boy. He knew that Thor would never allow them to touch him before the verdict was reached and would never forgive them if they did. It gave him the guarantee of personal safety at the very least while he planned his next move.

_Damn. What should I do next?_

Leif thought for a long while before finally carefully deciding on his next course of action. Hopefully it could let him achieve his goal while addressing the only concern he had left in his heart. He reached over and pressed the red emergency button on the wall beside the bed, positioned beside a speaker such that prisoners could call for help if they were in pain or dying (Leif had tried to use it to call for snacks before being cut off, much to his amusement).

_I bet Mom and Dad are sick with worry._

"Yes?" A crisp voice came through the speaker. "This had better not be a call for Cheetos or Reese's Pieces again kid."

"I wish to see Director Fury regarding a matter about my parents." Leif said quietly.

"Loki?" The voice perked up with urgency, much to Leif's annoyance.  _Is Loki the only person they care about?_

"No, my adoptive parents," Leif replied coldly. "I wish to see him about matters regarding them."

"I will inform him of that." The speaker turned off with a buzz.

It was not long before Nick Fury was in Leif's room, this time alone. He had realised that bringing the Avengers into the room along with him would give the boy opportunities to spark World War 3 and he had wisely decided to meet Leif by his own.

"What is it boy?" Nick looked suspiciously at the green eyed boy in front of him. He was not going to stand any nonsense from him.

"I have been kept here for a more than a day, Sir. My parents will be worried sick." Leif said quietly, looking at the burly man before him. "Perhaps you could let me call them? At least, let them know that I am safe before they actually cause any problems."

"We are aware of that and we have already made precautions to prevent any trouble." Director Fury replied curtly, "Our agents have intercepted a phone call to the police by your parents and I have sent one of my men to your home to inform them of your situation."  _Good, at least that issue is taken care of._  Leif took the opportunity to get on to his next point.

"How long do you plan on keeping me here?" Leif asked bemusedly, firmly maintaining eye contact with Fury.  _It wasn't hard; the man only had one eye, after all._

"As long as it takes to confirm your identity and Loki's motives," Nick answered curtly.

"How could you confirm it if I can't even confirm it myself?" Leif asked incredulously, glaring at the man. "Am I supposed to stay here forever, locked up as you guys befuddle yourselves with the mystery of my birth?"

"Thor has gone back to Asgard to confront Loki," Nick replied, irritated. "He will soon be back with the truth."

"Could you really take his reply as the truth? Take THE reply of the God of Lies as the truth?" Leif retorted scornfully. "There is an easier way to find out the truth you know."

Nick raised his brows at the boy's words. So this boy has a better plan?

"The pendant could tell us my identity."

"No." That was Nick's reply. Short and simple. No. Nick was not falling for that. The pendant was dangerous; the boy was dangerous. Let them connect and boom, he could be creating a new monster. Leif was highly disturbed by his answer.

"So you are planning to just take his words against mine, Director? Just taking the accounts of two people and pitting them against each other? I can say that Loki sent me here and he can deny it. There is no way to know who is telling the truth. You will need proof. Solid evidence." Leif argued while Nick looked affronted by what he had said. It was true. They had no real way of knowing. Loki is the God of Lies after all.

"The pendant reacted to me. It could tell us what we want to know and more. I might be able to unlock its secrets and mine as well." Leif said convincingly. He saw a sudden flash in the director's eye, something that seemed suspiciously like curiosity. Wonderful. Curiosity, greed and interest; all these were the tools Leif had used since young to chip away a person's defences and get what he wanted. He saw this as a great opportunity.

_So Nick Fury is interested in the pendant's power and secrets, is he?_

"Please, just one try Sir. To see what the reaction of the pendant would be and the secrets it could possibly hold. I just want to learn my identity, to see if what Loki said was true." Leif pled, looking innocent and earnest. "You can lock me in handcuffs if you want or even point a few guns at my head. You have so many men; I can't possibly escape."  _I am just a boy, after all._

Leif observed as the Director's resolve faltered and he considered Leif's suggestion. He was interested, no doubt about it.

_Step 2 completed._

XXX

Tony Stark was decked in his Iron Man suit as he stared bemusedly at the glowing violet pendant placed in the middle of a giant, round transparent container. He had a bad feeling about this.

Director Nick Fury had assembled the Avengers two hours ago and informed them of his decision to allow Leif to try out the pendant once more. He had argued that Loki's words alone could not be taken seriously in this case and he had planned to allow the boy to come into contact with the pendant and see what reaction it would trigger. His suggestion had drawn a flurry of reactions.

Tony for one, had furiously objected. He had argued that it was a bad idea; that kid and the pendant together spelt pure chaos. Steve had not been sure if this was a good choice ( _finally Gramps and I have something in common)_. Natasha, who had seen the boy sparking the pendant, was burning with curiosity to see what would happen. And of course, since _Tasha_  had said so, Clint agreed as well. That left Bruce who arrived in the nick of time to place his decision. He had actually conducted a few unsuccessful experiments on the pendant in his brief period with S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, he had answered as any inquisitive scientist would have done and therefore Tony was now here, outnumbered 3 to 2.

Fury had rambled on about how security levels would be raised to the maximum and how the Avengers would have to be present to prevent possible mishaps. He had added, much to Bruce's bemusement that Bruce would have to be absent from the actual scene and observe the proceedings through a camera to prevent any 'accidents'. Banner had grudgingly obliged, knowing that no one really wanted him on the scene anyway. The transparent walls of the container were built with the same material as the one used to contain Loki previously. Unbreakable. Created and meant to hold things stronger than a skinny 18 year old boy. The plan was fail proof, or so as Nick had claimed.

 _Bullshit_. Tony thought as he glared scornfully at the clear transparent walls. All these claims about how it was meant to reveal the boy's identity was just a cover up. Tony knew. S.H.I.E.L.D was simply after the power of the pendant and wanted to use the boy to unlock it. Haven't they learnt their lesson after the Tesseract incident?

_Well, maybe they are just curious? Yeah right!_

"Hello Tony," Phil greeted as the agent approached the Iron Man cautiously. Tony attempted to ignore him when he noticed a large purple bruise on the man's cheek.

"That's a nice bit of colour you have on your cheek Phil. What is it? A new fashion of war paint or something?" Tony mocked.

"Give the man a break Tony," Steve chided as he strode next to Phil.  _Always the Mr Nice Guy,_  Tony rolled his eyes.

"Wow! What happened Phil?" Steve asked in a concerned voice, eyeing the terrible swelling with shock.

"I had an accident earlier today at young Leif Matthews' house. Apparently his father wasn't quite pleased and got hysterical about his son's situation. Maria had been sent to replace me and comfort his distressed parents." Phil replied tartly as Steve flinched.  _Ouch._

"Well, I am surprised that you haven't feigned your death at the hands of Matthews' father. Could have spurred us to tear the boy to shreds." Tony gave a nasty sneer. Captain America glared at him.

"Stop it Tony, Phil did what he did before for the greater good. There is no need to be so sour." Steve berated.

"It's alright Captain. I don't mind if Tony doesn't understand that I have made great sacrifices too you know. My vintage Captain America cards…" Phil muttered bitterly. He still hasn't gotten over how Fury had smeared them with his blood. They were ruined! And they had been in mint condition before that too!

"I guess that me almost losing my life when directing the nuclear bomb to the Chitauri mother ship is considered insignificant when compared your loss of Gramps' card set. I am sincerely sorry Phil," Tony stated sarcastically. Phil was about to throw back a retort when Steve interrupted him.

"Hush you two! The kid is going in," Steve said grimly as the three of them watched Leif step cautiously alone into the container through a metal door which swung shut behind him. The boy's hands were not cuffed ( _they should have been,_ Tony thought resentfully _)_ and he took careful steps towards the necklace, anxious not to act in any way that seemed suspicious to Fury. He is close now.

_The pendant is calling._

Leif reached out and gently closed his hand around the violet gem, eliciting a series of glowing white sparks from it.  _Oh god, that's a bad sign,_  Tony thought to himself. Leif then picked up the necklace, its glow now changing from the cooling violet to a bright hot white. Its light reached out and engulfed the boy's hands, covering them with an eerie white glow.  _And things are getting worse._

"Director? Director! I think that is enough!" Tony muttered warningly into his earpiece and thankfully for once, Fury seemed to agree.

"Matthews, drop the pendant! Matthews? Do you hear me? DROP IT NOW!" Fury's agitated voice blasted through the loud speaker. However, Leif had ignored the commands, his eyes only on the pendant. And then, before Tony or anyone else could react, the boy lifted the necklace and brought it down onto his neck. There was a huge explosion as the transparent walls were blasted backwards and curved outwards in a dent all around the middle. 

 _Unbreakable walls huh? One more blast and there won't be any walls left to break._  Tony thought cynically. He saw Leif, whose body was engulfed in a fiery white light by the pendant, standing in the middle obviously awe-struck by this turn of events.

_Great! What did I tell you? Bad idea._

Tony's face was grim as the Iron Man mask snapped down shut and lit up in preparation for battle. He is so going to have Fury's hide for this after the incident is over.


	7. A Change in Events

Leif was in a shock, unsure of what was happening to him.

The moment the pendant touched his neck, a surge of energy had coursed through his body before erupting out in a humongous explosion that had blasted the walls of the container outwards in a curve. Then, a bright white light had engulfed his entire body before slowly fading away. Leif could still feel the energy radiating from the pendant and surging through his body though. It felt surprisingly warm. Familiar. It was as though these powers were meant to be his all this time.

“That’s enough kid. Take the pendant off.” A sharp mechanical voice jolted him from his trance. Leif spun around and saw the Iron Man entering the container and the metal door swung shut behind him. They were not going to take any risks of him escaping. “Now kid. Don’t force me to use force.” The Man in Iron commanded curtly once more, now in a battle stance with the palm of his right hand aimed at Leif.

_Uh oh._

“I… Wait…” Leif stuttered in panic and reached gingerly for the pendant on his necklace. He didn’t like the look of this situation. Leif thought he’d better do as Tony Stark demanded; he had a feeling the man would not hesitate to carry out his threat. As Leif’s hands closed around the pendant and attempted to lift it off, he realised with terror that he couldn’t. The pendant simply wouldn’t budge. It was as though it has been welded firmly onto Leif’s skin and regardless of what the boy did, he was not able to tug it off.

“I can’t take it off!” Leif cried out desperately.

“Don’t give me any tricks boy,” Tony growled. “If you don’t take that pretty necklace off by the time I count to three, I will blast you straight into the centre of the Earth!” Leif looked at him, eyes wide with panic and horror.

_God, what should I do?_

“One,” The Iron Man counted menacingly, still aiming his palm at the boy. Leif grabbed the pendant and tried to pull it off with all the strength he could muster. It was useless.

“Two,” Tony continued and this time, the area of the Iron Man suit covering his right palm slid open and glowed with a flashing white light.

_Shit! He really is going to kill me!_

“Thre-“ Tony seemed about to fire a blast from his palm when Leif panicked and shot his hands out with terror in an attempt to defend himself.

“Wait no!” Leif cried out in agitation and before he knew it, there was a loud blast. The Man of Iron flew backwards with such tremendous force that he knocked the iron door of the container off its hinges and slammed into the wall opposite the room. Leif stared in horror as the limp figure of the man in the iron suit slid onto the floor from the large dent in the wall.

_Oh god, what have I done!_

Leif gazed down at his hands which were still tingling with the remains of the energy he had blasted out from his palms. He then took another nervous glance at the Iron Man.

_I didn’t kill him, did I? Please don’t let him be dead!_

Tony Stark gave a groan and picked himself up from the floor, straightening himself as he brushed debris off his suit.

_Thank goodness. I might have known. How could the great Iron Man possibly die of just a tiny blast from me?_

Leif’s attention returned to his own hands. After recovering from the shock, he was now curious about his new found power. Leif had always been able to produce weak energy waves from his hands and fingers, but they had never before been as powerful as the blast he had produced earlier. He took aim at the clear wall of the container with his right hand, eager to try it out once more. However, this time, only weak energy waves pulsed out momentarily from his palm before disappearing entirely.

_Okay. It seems that I can’t quite control it yet._

“Alright son, stop that!” Leif looked up at the sound of the stern voice and saw a man in a tight uniform, holding a shiny circular shield standing at the entrance of the container, now without its door. Leif could have rolled his eyes at the sight of the spangly red and blue tights the man was donning. _Is that horrendous outfit the latest fashion now?_

“Don’t try to fight Leif, it’s useless. Raise your hands up and put them behind your head. We won’t hurt you if you surrender.” The man ordered firmly. There was a ring of authority in this man’s voice and yetthere was a certain feel about him that made Leif trust his words. Leif placed his hands cautiously behind his head as a sign of surrender. It was the only thing he could do now after all, as the Iron Man had once again strode into the container and was now aiming all the missiles and lasers from every inch of his suit at the boy.

Clint Barton walked up solemnly towards Leif and cuffed both his hands while Natasha approached him cautiously and attempted to remove the pendant.

“God, he was right Director,” Natasha muttered quietly into her earpiece, her eyes fixed grimly on Leif’s face. “The pendant can’t be removed. It’s like it has been glued to the boy’s skin.”

Leif could feel all the dubious glares that were being cast towards his direction that moment. He glanced around nervously and fixed his eyes on the furious face of Tony Stark, whose Iron Man mask had snapped back up again. Leif wondered if he should apologise to the man for blasting and sending him hurtling out of the container across the room. It had been unintentional, after all. Then the boy took one final glance at the infuriated Tony before deciding against it.

_No. It would do the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist some good to learn a little humility once in a while._

XXX

Loki chuckled gleefully as he watched Leif send the Iron Man rocketing out of the container with a giant blast. _Beautiful. Perfect. That was exactly what that annoying and irritating mortal deserved._

He was extremely pleased. His son had not disappointed him. Loki then observed as Leif tried to produce another energy pulse and failed. Well, obviously the power would have to take some time and practice to control. Loki, himself had taken quite a while to master his energy projection skills. It was a powerful form of magic and extremely useful in combat when one has managed to master it.

_Patience, my son._

Thundering footsteps alerted Loki to the arrival of his brother once more and for the first time in the past two months, Loki didn’t mind. No, the God of Mischief was in such a good mood that even the presence of Thor would not irk him.

“Loki!” Thor had roared once he reached his brother. Loki simply smirked back. “Who is this boy named Leif? I know you have visited him in his dreams and tried to manipulate him. Don’t attempt to lie to me brother!” The God of Thunder growled dangerously, glaring at the grinning man before him.

“Oh, so you have met him Thor? Delightful boy isn’t he?” Loki chuckled mockingly. “I am extremely fond of him myself,” The trickster added happily as his brother glowered. “And in case you were wondering, dear brother; yes, Leif is my son. I thought that even you, with your mast amount of dumb, would have realised that by now. That boy is a splitting image of me.” Loki grinned at Thor’s flabbergasted look.

“When did you have a son, Loki? No one knew. Not even Father.” Thor gaped at his brother, unsure if this was another of the god’s tricks.

“I like to have a few little secrets of my own Thor.” Loki gave a sly smile. “Leif was born by the union between me and a Midgardian female 18 years ago on one of my little vacations to Earth. Yes, Thor, a human female (Thor had looked surprised by this declaration). As much as I despise those foolish, mindless creatures, Thea was different. She was unique. Special.” Loki paused for a moment at this point, his heart suddenly flooded with sorrow at the thought of his late lover. He longed for her again. However, the trickster did not let it show on his face, wearing his usual cold smirk to hide his emotions.

“So he is your son Loki,” Thor began furiously, filling in the silence of Loki’s pause. “Well, what do you want from him? Why are you manipulating him to steal the pendant? What are you scheming this time?” Loki looked at his brother with amusement.

_Oh, someone is getting angry._

“Firstly, I did not manipulate him. The boy did it out of his own free will. Secondly, the pendant is his. I gave it to him when I left his mother; Leif was merely retrieving what was rightfully his in the first place. I would not consider that stealing.” Loki smirked as Thor looked crestfallen at his words. _Oh, so you thought that I had brain washed the boy, did you?_ “And yes brother, I had planned for him to get the pendant because when he does, my plans would be set.” Thor’s eyes almost bulged out in shock at Loki’s words, amusing the trickster to no end.

“The pendant would not only unlock the powers within the boy but will also amplify it. It is a powerful relic I had found ages ago. When Leif’s potential is unleashed, he will be able to destroy Earth under my command once he learns to control those powers.” Loki smirked as Thor gave an angry growl and turned to leave.

“Going back to Earth to stop him, Brother? Well, it’s too late!” Loki hissed, stopping Thor in his tracks. The larger god turned around, anxious to know what the other had meant. “You forgot one important thing Thor, Leif is MY son.” Loki declared. “I am still amused by the way he had made those incompetent fools at S.H.I.E.L.D. hand over the pendant to him on a silver platter. I couldn’t have done it better myself.” The trickster sniggered elatedly while Thor glared at him. Then the God of Thunder turned and strode off wordlessly with large furious steps, leaving Loki alone in the dark cave.

 _Running off to plead for Father’s help again Thor?_ Loki thought spitefully as he watched his brother leave _. Typical. And Father will once again come up with the perfect plan to solve the problem._ Loki gave a cunning grin. He knew what that perfect plan would be. Loki had anticipated it. Little did Odin and Thor know that this particular perfect plan was part of Loki’s scheme all along. Loki gave a happy little sigh of content. Looks like plans (Loki’s plans) were progressing better than he had expected.

XXX

Leif was back in his cell. The people from S.H.I.E.L.D. have dragged him back as soon as he was subdued and left him there, probably to run off and have a little discussion about what to do with him. Nonetheless, Leif was calm despite the seemingly grave situation.

_The pendant is now mine._

Leif could feel the pendant’s warm touch against his chest. Energy radiated from the glowing violet gem, entering and surging through his body. It was a wonderful feeling. Leif felt safe. Secure. He gave a smile which quickly turned into a grimace as his arms ached with cramps when he leant back on the wall. He had those damn hand cuffs on for two whole hours now. Apparently his captors got too jumpy about his newly attained powers and felt that it would be safer to keep his hands locked.

 _Damn them._ Leif thought bitterly as he shifted his arms uncomfortably. The cuffs are hurting his hands and he hated it. He hated the damn thing. Leif was just thinking about how he would rip off the freaking contraption if he could and was imagining the delightful feeling of his hands being free again when he realised that it wasn’t just his imagination. Leif promptly turned around and glanced down at a spot on the bed where a once solid metal hand cuff that was binding his hands now lay: In a pool of silvery molten liquid. Apparently the metal cuff had melted when Leif targeted his strong feelings of displeasure towards it.

_Oh my god._

Leif bent down a little closer to the molten metal and was examining it with both shock and curiosity when the door of his cell swung open once more. Agent Romanoff strode in, took one terrified glance at Leif, with his hands now free, and immediately whipped out her gun. She pointed it at the stunned boy and in her panic, took one swift step backwards, causing the back of her head to collide soundly with the nose of Clint Barton, who was following right behind her. There was a loud crack and Agent Barton stumbled backwards, holding onto the metal doorframe for support and clutching his poor nose in pain.

“Oww! Oh my gawd Tadshaw! Wad hadpened?” Clint grunted, nursing his nose while his eyes watered at the pain. However _Tasha_ didn’t answer. Her eyes swept over briefly to the spot where the molten metal liquid was and then back to the boy’s face. The usual fire in her eyes was now replaced with a mixture of astonishment and fear. _What kind of monster is this boy?_

Leif raised both hands up as a sign of surrender once more and managed to smile weakly at the grim woman.

“It wasn’t me. The contraption ( _he nodded towards the molten puddle_ ) melted by its own.” Leif explained lamely as his heart sank a few inches deeper.

_Things were bad. Really bad._

XXX

“I know this is a bad time to say ‘I told you so’, but _I told you so_.” Tony said annoyingly to a depressed Nick Fury who was now sitting with his elbows resting on his office desk and face buried in his hands.

“Stop it Tony. Stop rubbing it in,” Steve chided, although his voice was not as stern as it usually was. He secretly agreed with the billionaire; the boy should not have been allowed near the pendant.

Just five hours after he had worn the pendant, the boy had managed to melt away 3 pairs of handcuffs, ( _scaring Natasha out of her wits the first time he did that, thus leading to Clint’s nose being broken_ ) as well as ‘accidentally’ blasting a hole in the walls of his cell. Leif was then transported to a new, stronger and better one which was now being heavily guarded by Natasha, Clint ( _who had made a speedy recovery thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D‘s high tech medical equipment, or maybe simply from an apologetic kiss from Tasha herself_ ) and 18 of the best-trained and bravest men Fury had.

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was completely worn out and exhausted. He was in a wreck. Things had not gotten any better when Maria Hill marched in and presented Leif Matthews’ original birth certificate to him, having actually managed to coax it out from the boy’s parents. At the very top of the document scrawled in untidy letters under the heading of Child’s Father was the name: Loki Odinson. ( _“See! We could have determined the boy’s parentage without nearly tearing down the entire building!” An irritated Stark had exclaimed._ )

Bruce Banner had run some preliminary tests on the molten metal sample collected and found out that the energy level of the atoms and molecules in the sample were exceptionally high. This, the scientist had reasoned, may be the cause of the metal transforming from its solid to liquid form. However, how Leif had actually managed to increase the energy levels of the molecules, resulting in them breaking free of their metallic bonds, was still unclear and Bruce had said that he would have to conduct a lot more research on the matter. So now there was nothing else Nick could do except to sit in his office and lament his earlier decision to let Leif try out the pendant while the boy is in his cell, melting away his fourth handcuff.

Tony was about to open his mouth and make another sarcastic remark when he was interrupted by a thunderous crash. Nick fell off his chair in shock and Steve scrambled under the desk for cover as the large glass window of the director’s office had once again shattered into a million pieces when something, or someone, flew in. Tony himself took a few steps away from the window in terror, lost his balance and found himself sitting on the floor in a most unglamorous manner.

“Greetings my friends! I have come bearing most excellent news!” Thor beamed happily as he stood up and shook pieces of the shattered glass from his hair and clothes. He then looked surprised as he saw all three of his friends sprawled on the ground.

“What the hell Thor!” Nick had bellowed furiously at the befuddled god as he picked himself off the ground. He stared incredulously at his broken window. “I just had that window fixed yesterday!”

Captain America climbed up from under the desk, his face visibly blushing with embarrassment.

“You shouldn’t do that, you know?” Steve said reproachfully to an upset Thor. “I could have gotten a heart attack.”

“Yeah listen to the old man Thor,” Tony muttered as he stood up and glared at the God of Thunder. “Old people die easily from heart attacks,” he continued, causing Steve to shoot a dirty look in his direction. Thor looked so utterly grieved at having caused his friends so much trouble that Steve hurriedly changed the topic.

“So what is the excellent news that you have spoken of?” Steve asked Thor, snapping the god out of his depression. The God of Thunder seemed to suddenly remember the reason for his presence and beamed in delight.

“Ah, yes! I have confronted my brother and learnt that Leif is indeed the son he had with a Midgardian female 18 years ago.” Thor declared happily. Tony snatched up Leif’s birth documents from Nick’s desk and waved it under the god’s nose.

“Way ahead of you, pal.” He said dryly as Thor stared at the piece of paper, disappointed that his news had not been of much help.

“Well, you must have additional news right, buddy?” Steve mentioned kindly and Thor gave a vigorous nod.

“Loki did not simply want to steal the pendant, as we had thought. He means to unleash the powers in the boy by letting him come into contact with the pendant.” Thor explained earnestly. Nick could have kicked himself after hearing Thor’s words. Great! There he was, thinking about how he would be determined to stop Loki’s plans at all costs when he had actually completed the psycho’s scheme with his own two hands. “When the boy’s powers are unleashed and amplified by the pendant, he would become a threat to Earth. Loki would be able to manipulate him to do his bidding, as I know my brother’s skills too well.” The Thunder God continued solemnly.

“Well marvellous! Absolutely marvellous! We have managed to accomplish Loki’s goal for him. How about giving three cheers, Director?” Tony exclaimed mockingly while Nick looked downcast. Steve was about to reproach him again but decided against it as the Captain felt that there were much more pressing issues to address and mistakes to admit than to start an argument with Tony.

“I am afraid we have allowed the boy to obtain the pendant, Thor.” Steve mumbled apologetically to the god, expecting Thor to become outraged. However, contrary to his expectations, Thor smiled gleefully.

“Yes I have learnt of that,” the god grinned. “And I have approached my father, the Almighty Odin himself for help. Father had come up with a perfect solution my friends.” Both Nick and Steve snapped to attention at Thor’s words while Tony seemed bewildered. _The perfect solution?_

XXX

 The green and silvery mist surrounded Leif as he stared vacantly into the space before him.

_No… This cannot possibly be happening to me._

Just earlier, Leif had been poking curiously at a puddle of molten silvery metal that had once been his fourth handcuff, entirely minding his own business when Nick Fury and Thor marched into his room. The Director took one weary glance at the puddle of silvery substance on the floor and decided to blatantly ignore it, focusing his attention back on the boy. The God of Thunder had positively beamed at Leif (much to the boy’s amusement) and greeted him with a loud, jovial “Greetings nephew!”

Nick Fury then handed Leif some pieces of paper wordlessly. The boy had taken a quick glimpse of the documents and realised that they were his birth certificates attached with information of his real parents.

“So now we know the truth of your birth, huh?” Nick Fury gave a grim remark as Leif’s eyes skimmed the documents quickly, ignoring the director as the man had continued to banter on about something. He had caught a few words and phrases now and then in Nick’s lengthy speech, such as ‘dangerous’, ‘threat to Earth’, ‘sneaky little liar’ and ‘are you listening to me?’. However, Leif had been too engrossed with reading his real parents’ names and information to care.

Thea Black, his mother, was a beautiful raven haired woman with stunning brown eyes that had died at an age of 26 while giving birth to him. Leif felt a tinge of sadness as he stared at his mother’s photo. He then glanced through the information about her family and background, thirsting for knowledge about this woman he should have been extremely familiar with. There had however, been no information about his father, Loki Odinson in the stack of papers. Apparently Thea had only given the name of her child’s father, unable to provide any official documents before dying and the nurse had simply scribbled it down thinking that the unusual name might have been an alias of some sort.

Leif had always known that he was adopted. However, finally seeing the proof of this fact in front of him was like a slap in the face and he was in a stunned stupor as he read about his true parentage. It was not until Nick Fury had said something unimaginable that he jolted out of his trance.

“Therefore, as you are now too dangerous to keep on Earth, Thor will be bringing you back to Asgard, where your powers will not be a threat.” The Director concluded his lengthy speech. Leif stared, first at him in disbelief, and then at Thor, who was grinning brightly at him.

“No. I refuse.” Leif had replied curtly as he glared at Nick Fury’s indifferent expression and his uncle’s disappointed face.

After an hour and a half of furious arguments ( _where Leif had defiantly stated his stand of not leaving, Nick had angrily berated the boy and Thor had tried as hard as he could to persuade his nephew that Asgard was ‘a wonderful place’_ ), an enraged Leif had fiercely ordered the one-eyed man and God of Thunder to leave the room (or as he had stated, ‘scram!’). Thus Nick and a downcast Thor had left the boy alone to think things through and resign to his fate. Leif was desperately trying to think his way out of this fix when Loki’s voice echoed in his head.

_You may never be able to return to your old life again._

_Loki knew_. Leif realised that the God of Lies had predicted that this would happen and thus, was now back in the only place where he could confront his father. Loki materialised in front of him and grinned at the boy.

“Congratulations, my son. You have not disappointed me. You have obtained the pendant, as I had always known you could.” Loki smiled at his son with a tinge of pride in his voice. However, Leif was too concerned about other matters to accept his Father’s praise with grace.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Leif said quietly, looking at Loki. “You knew that once I have obtained the pendant and revealed my identity, Thor would have no choice but to bring me back to Asgard.”

“Well, I had sort of guessed,” The God of Mischief shrugged and smirked at his son, who became rather hysterical.

“No! I don’t want to leave Earth,” Leif had shouted in despair at his father, his eyes pleading for the god to come up with an idea to help him, any idea. “I can’t possibly leave my parents behind here!”

“They are not your parents Leif,” Loki reminded him gently. “I am.”

Leif felt enraged by Loki’s words. “You have no idea how I am feeling right now-” Leif was about to start another rant when he stopped at the sight of Loki’s cold, harsh eyes, flashing with anger and hatred. The boy felt a shiver run down his spine once more as the god glared savagely at him.

“I know exactly how you feel Leif,” Loki replied quietly, trying to control his emotions even though there was an unmistakable tone of anger in his voice. “I had gone through far worse than you had ever been through in your measly 18 years of life. I was adopted as well.” Loki saw the boy’s face fill with surprise at his statement.

_Obviously, the boy didn’t know, did he? Not many people knew._

Even till today, Odin had kept the true identity of his adopted son a secret. Only Thor and Frigga, as well as the Avengers (because the bumbling Thor had blurted it out) knew about Loki’s true parentage. Loki decided it was about time his son learnt it as well. It would not be good for Loki’s plans if the boy grew too attached to his ‘Uncle Thor’.

“Yes, Leif. I am not the real son of Odin as you might have thought. I realised this fact myself, abruptly in the midst of a rising war, unlike you who had known it all along. I learnt then that I was the son of the king of the Jotunheim, Laufey, the sworn enemy of Asgard.” Loki said bitterly as Leif’s eyes grew wide with shock. “I learnt then, after all these years that I was the monster that mothers had spoken of in bedtime stories to their children in Asgard: a Frost Giant.” The trickster spat out the last term in disgust, hating his own parentage.

“I was nothing more than another stolen relic, claimed by Odin after the earlier war and held as a hostage in the very place I had thought to be home. I was merely a tool to use against the Jotunheim when the situation calls for it. I was abandoned by my birth father, forsaken by my adoptive parents.” Loki hissed viciously. “Yes, I know what it means to lose all that was dear to you in the flick of an eye, Leif. I, too, had lost both my parents as well as my faith in them. I know exactly how you feel.” Loki finished and gazed sadly at his son, who was now truly dumbfounded by his father’s confession.

“At least your foster parents loved you,” Loki added, his eyes filled with sorrow. “And I,” he continued. “I have never forgotten about you, have I? All these years, even though we were separated by the distance of the realms, even though I could not bring you to me, I had visited you and paid attention to your life.” Leif nodded, not knowing what else to say. It was true; Loki had made an effort to meet him at least once in a while. All those dreams Leif had in the past seemed so much more significant now. They were a father’s visits to his son, and not brief meetings between two strangers. Leif felt touched, and sympathetic as well at his father’s plight. His feelings must have been shown on his face as Loki seemed to notice and gave the boy a rueful smile.

“I am sorry,” Loki said apologetically. “We should be celebrating your triumph in obtaining the pendant and your powers, not ranting about my pathetic past.” The mention of his powers reminded Leif of something.

“My powers,” the boy piped up suddenly. “I am not able to control them.” Loki looked amused by his statement.

“Of course you are unable to control your powers Leif. No new born is able to walk immediately.” The god stated matter of factly. “The ability you have used to blast that annoying Iron Man, which I must compliment you for (Loki sniggered at this point), is a skill you have inherited from me: energy projection. It is an extremely useful bit of magic, my son, as you will learn in the days to come. However, the pendant seems to have amplified that particular skill of yours, allowing you to manipulate energy and its flow into different objects as well. That’s interesting, even I am unable to do that.” Loki gave his son a cunning grin. “We will have more time to investigate this new ability of yours when you come to Asgard, Leif. I have no doubt it will come in handy someday.”

 _Well, at least that will be interesting_ ; Leif thought to himself. He fancied the idea of looking into his new powers but his heart sank again at the thought of having to leave his adoptive parents. Leif could not bear the idea of parting with them. Loki took another look at his son’s glum face and chuckled.

“Lighten up, my son. Regardless of whether you like it or not, you are coming home.”


	8. A Step into a New World

Leif gazed sadly at Eleanor’s bloodshot eyes as he tenderly wiped off the tears staining her face.

“I am sorry, Mom.” It was all he could say. Eleanor gave another choked sob and hugged her son tightly, refusing to let go. Oliver Matthews enveloped his wife and son with his arms and the three of them huddled together in a tight embrace, treasuring the precious few moments they had left.

Director Nick Fury had allowed Leif to say a final goodbye to his parents after the boy consented to leave quietly. It had seemed fair, after all. So Leif had been escorted into his old home by Thor, Phil Coulson and Maria Hill while Captain America and the Iron Man stood guard outside the house, in case the boy attempted to try anything funny. Phil had flinched involuntarily when Oliver rushed over as soon as the door was opened, however the burly man was too preoccupied with his son to even cast a glance in the agent’s direction.

“We loved you Leif. We have always treated you as our own child.” Eleanor sobbed and Leif felt tears of sorrow run down his own cheeks as well. Leif knew that; he had always known. He glanced at Oliver whose face was also lined with grief.

“Remember that you will always be our son, Leif, no matter where you are.” The older Matthews said, his voice filled with anguish and Leif nodded, blinking out the tears from his eyes.

Thor watched the scene sadly. He felt bad about pulling the boy away from his adoptive parents, but it could not be helped. The god remembered how his own father had tried to reach out to Loki with the exact same words as well, but the defiant trickster had refused to listen. If only Loki could understand Odin’s agony as well as Leif had understood the Matthews’. Thor glanced over at his companions and saw Phil dabbing his wet eyes with a handkerchief, touched by the scene while Maria’s usually stern face had softened as well. It was indeed, a heart wrenching sight.

Soon, the time allowed for the farewell was over and Phil cautiously went over to inform the grieving family of this fact (he was not particularly excited about receiving another punch). Leif dried his face and muttered a silent goodbye to his weeping parents before leaving, wearing a mask of forced indifference as soon as he stepped out of the house. Tony Stark was outside, and Leif was sure that the snarky billionaire is the last person on Earth that he would want to show his sorrow to.

“So this is it eh Junior?” The Iron Man chirped in his usual voice which made Leif grit his teeth. “Adios, then. I hope we don’t see each other again. Ever.”

“Same to you,” Leif muttered coldly as he glared at the expressionless iron mask.  Thor placed his hand warmly on the boy’s shoulder and led him off down the stretch of road to an empty space. There, he had gazed up at the sky and called for Heimdall ( _who ever that was_ ), hollering something about asking Father to send them back. The god then turned to a grumpy Leif and smiled broadly.

“Don’t worry Leif, we will be back in Asgard soon. You will not be alone, my nephew, as I will always be there for you. We are family, after all.” Thor said in assuring tones, hoping to comfort the boy.

_Yeah right. As if that was true. You are not even my biological uncle._

Leif rolled his eyes scornfully and regretted it almost at once when he saw the hurt expression on Thor’s face. _Oh for goodness sakes, he acts more like a kid than I do!_ Leif thought exasperatedly to himself.

“Yes Uncle, we are,” Leif forced a horrible smile that he honestly did not feel like giving and Thor’s face lit up, happy once more. The God of Thunder was about to say something jovial again when both of them were whisked up at the speed of light by the portal Odin had created.

“Well, good riddance,” Tony muttered as he, Steve, Phil and Maria watched the two figures vanish into the sky.

  _Finally, the mischief is gone for good._

XXX

Odin watched grimly as his son strode down the great hall towards him, bringing along a boy who seemed nervous and awestruck by the sheer size and magnificence of the place. Thor stopped before the steps leading to his father’s throne and knelt down on one knee, beckoning the boy to do the same.

“Father, I have brought Leif, Loki’s son.” Thor declared proudly and flashed a big grin at Frigga who was standing on one of the steps, smiling warmly at the both of them. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif, who were also in the hall, stared eagerly at Leif, curious to see the child of Loki. Odin himself gazed at the boy with silence, observing his sleek, ebony black hair and almond shaped green eyes.

_He looks exactly like Loki._

Odin remembered with a pang of sadness how a younger Loki had held his hand tightly in the weapon’s vault years ago, eagerly declaring along with his brother that he would be ready to fight in any war to defend Asgard. Leif is similar to that Loki back then; young, innocent and pure. Despite hearing Heimdall and Thor’s reports of how the boy had created trouble back at Midgard, Odin knew that he had yet to sink into hatred and bitterness as his father had.

_So he is Loki’s son._

Odin had always loved Loki dearly, regardless of how the defiant trickster had spitefully denied this fact. He had grieved when his younger son was corrupted with a greed for power and had mourned with sorrow when his wayward child fell into the abyss he himself had created. Even till now, when Loki is imprisoned and his heart consumed by hatred, Odin had never forgiven himself for allowing his son to sink so deeply into the darkness.

_Perhaps this is a chance for me to make amends._

Odin gazed deeply into Leif’s emerald coloured eyes. He saw an inner predisposition for mischief, a strong streak of stubbornness and an abundance of cunning in the boy. However, despite of all this, there was a pure child-like innocence shining in those eyes, just like it had once shone in Loki’s. The god silently swore to himself that he would guard that innocence and do all it takes to prevent any evil from seeping into the boy’s heart.

Odin had been unable to save his son in the past. Now, he was determined to protect his grandson.

XXX

Leif was in a terribly nasty mood. He missed his parents dearly and longed to return back to his old home. Despite how magnificent and majestic Asgard was, this new realm had felt alien and unfamiliar to him. This is not his home, as Loki had gleefully claimed it to be; Earth is.

When he first arrived, Leif had been stunned by the tall and elegant golden buildings around him. Thor had chuckled gleefully at his nephew’s gaping expression and led him to a gigantic and beautiful hall where he had met Odin and Frigga, who embraced him fondly. They had welcomed him warmly to Asgard and stated that this would be his home now. Leif was later half-dragged by an enthusiastic Thor to a massive and grand bedroom which was meant for the boy. For the next 2 hours and 16 minutes, Leif had sat on the soft bed, wallowing in self-pity and lamenting the fact that he would have to spend the rest of his life in this strange and shiny world. Then, instead of wisely leaving the boy alone, an oblivious Thor had knocked loudly and barged into his room without permission, once again dragging a reluctant Leif out for his evening meal.

So now Leif was sitting at a long dining table across Thor, sulking and glaring at the large mountain of food his eager uncle had heaped onto his golden plate. And as if the company of his exasperating uncle was not enough, three strange looking men strode into the dining hall. Leif watched bemusedly as they walked over and greeted Thor passionately before finally noticing the boy’s presence. The blonde suave one of the three walked over to Leif and introduced himself and the others to the irritated boy.

“Greetings Leif! I am Fandral the Dashing, he is Volstagg the Valiant (Fandral pointed to the enormous man with a tangled long beard and bushy red hair) and he is Hogun the Grim (Fandral now pointed to the dark haired, stony faced man). And together, we are the Warriors Three!” Fandral declared proudly as Volstagg flashed a toothy grin at the boy and Hogun simply nodded, his face expressionless.

_Oh goodie! I couldn’t care less._

Leif attempted to ignore the trio by starting on his humongous plate of food. However, the three men crowded around him, curious to learn more about Loki’s son. Fandral had most annoyingly planted himself on the seat next to Leif while Volstagg stared blatantly at the boy’s face while he ate, aggravating him to no end. Hogun, thankfully, had the good sense to sit a few chairs away and observe the boy from a distance.

“Wow! He really does look like Loki!” Volstagg blurted out all of a sudden to no one in particular and Leif finally decided that he had enough.

“Yes, many people had _tactfully_ informed me of that fact in the past. Now, may I please eat my food in peace without you constantly ogling at me?” Leif retorted coldly while Volstagg looked abashed by the boy’s display of irritation.

“Where are your manners Volstagg?” Fandral hastily chided his friend. “Please pardon him Leif, he can be an oaf at times,” He explained apologetically while Volstagg scowled at him. Leif continued eating quietly, effectively ignoring the four men in the room and an awkward silence soon engulfed the large dining hall. After a few minutes, Fandral finally decided to take the first step to break the ice.

“Well, I guess we will be seeing each other extremely often huh Leif?” The swashbuckler chuckled and gave the boy a friendly slap on the back. Leif almost choked and shot Fandral a dirty look, which the blonde man had blissfully missed. “So why don’t we exchange stories of our lives and get to know each other better?” Fandral suggested jovially, much to the boy’s horror and Volstagg’s hearty approval.

_Oh my god! Can’t I even eat in peace?_

After noticing that the silent boy was not about to share a tale, Fandral took it upon himself to start the ball rolling.

“Well, let me start off by telling you about the time I met this gorgeous lady elf on one of my journeys to Alfheimir. Ah it had been such an adventure!”

XXX

Thor watched with amusement as the spirited Fandral rattled on passionately about his adventures and past romances to an extremely vexed Leif. Volstagg was sitting next to the boy as well, giving loud and hearty guffaws at particular parts of his friend’s story, thus making it impossible for Leif to block the men out and concentrate on his food. Lady Sif came into the hall and approached Thor. She sat on a chair beside the Thunder God and eyed the scene with interest.

“So he is Loki’s son?” She muttered quietly to Thor.

“Why yes! A fine boy isn’t he?” Thor grinned happily at her and Sif gave a wry smile. Somehow she had a bad feeling about the kid. Sif stared at Leif skeptically as the boy finally snapped, annoyed by Fandral’s prattle and retaliating with stories of his own exploits, much to the man’s bemusement.

“Do you think it would be okay for him to be here? After all, he is Loki’s son and Loki isn’t exactly on good terms with us right now.” Sif murmured to Thor, who stared back at her incredulously.

“Of course it’s okay Sif! The boy may be Loki’s son, but he is also my nephew and Father’s grandson. He will be fine!” Thor declared firmly. Sif replied with a nervous smile and sat back with Thor as they observed how Fandral and Leif had engaged in a furious argument over whose romantic experiences were better. Fandral had pointed out that he had met and courted thousands of women over the years and thus established himself to be the better ladies’ man. Leif, on the other hand, had smirked at the romantic’s claims and retorted that he, Leif, had made 134 girls swoon over him in his brief 14 years of school, thus beating the man hands down in terms of both quality and quantity of his romances when the number of years is scaled down.

“Do you think he will be able to fit in?” Sif asked Thor as the god watched his friends’ interactions with his nephew happily. “After all, he has been living in Midgard all these years. It may take a long time for him to get used to Asgard.” She was then momentarily distracted by Volstagg’s loud guffaws at Fandral’s indignant reactions to Leif’s sass.

“I do not think that it will be a cause for concern, Sif.” Thor replied optimistically. “In fact I am sure that the boy will adapt quickly.” He returned his attention back to the trio who were now pouring out goblets of ale as Fandral challenged Leif to a drinking match, or a test of endurance as he had claimed. Leif took a sip from his first goblet, decided readily that he liked the stuff and downed the entire goblet at once. Fandral, who was impressed by the boy’s guts, promptly drained his as well. Thor chuckled with amusement as he watched Volstagg cheer both sides on while Leif and Fandral took turns to drink goblets after goblets of ale.

Finally, after emptying numerous caskets of the ale, Leif had pointed to Hogun, who was frowning with disapproval at the display, and giggled in his drunken state that the warrior had resembled a squinty eyed, grumpy old man who lived across the street of his old home. The boy then passed out and collapsed on the floor while Fandral and Volstagg burst into hysterical laughter at Hogun’s resentful expression. Thor gave another hearty chortle and turned to Sif, who was stunned by what had happened.

“See, the boy fits in perfectly!” Thor grinned and rose up from his seat, walking over to Leif’s stirring body. He gently lifted the boy onto his arms and could have sworn that Leif had murmured something that sounded like “Give me another!” As Thor was about to leave the dining hall and bring his nephew back to his bedroom, the god heard Fandral exclaim something loudly in his drunken stupor.

“That boy! I like him!” The blonde haired swashbuckler hollered zealously and staggered about while Volstagg guffawed at his friend’s antics. “Looks like Loki’s son isn’t so bad after all!”

XXX

Leif gazed out of his bedroom window, admiring the beautiful silhouettes of the tall and elegant golden buildings in Asgard. He had been here for almost two weeks now and although he hated to admit it, he had enjoyed his stay here very much. Thor, for one, had gone out of his way to ensure that his nephew had felt at home.

Although Leif had immensely disliked his uncle as well as the Warriors Three at first sight, the enthusiastic Thor, witty Fandral and bumbling Volstagg had grown onto him. Leif had found their various antics to be extremely amusing and a great source of entertainment. The quiet Hogun, on the other hand, had proved to be really good company when Leif craved some peace and sanity. The two would sit next to each other in silence sometimes, never speaking and appreciating each other’s tact for this. There was also the strong and proud Lady Sif, who had stunned Leif with her dazzling beauty during their first meeting. Leif certainly had not needed any time to get used to her. Odin and Frigga had also been extremely kind to their grandson, taking care of his every little need. Yes, Leif was having a really fine time here indeed.

Over the past few days, Thor had eagerly invited, or rather, forced, Leif to join him, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif on many of their hunting trips together. Leif had quickly realised on the very first excursion, that he was totally inapt at using a hunting bow. The arrows he shot either wiggled flimsily through the air and fell on the ground before reaching his target or missed the mark entirely. Volstagg had guffawed loudly at Leif’s failures, much to the boy’s annoyance. Thus Leif made a firm resolution to master the use of the bow and had practised diligently until he was satisfied with his skills, now being able to accurately hit the bull’s eye from a distance. He had then exacted his revenge by shooting a plump pheasant’s leg out of Volstagg’s hand with a single arrow, one that the man was eagerly about to eat. The enraged Asgardian had chased a sniggering Leif around the courtyard for some time before finally resigning to the fact that he would not be able to outmatch the boy in speed. Volstagg had stopped, panting with exhaustion and glaring furiously at Leif, who was standing a safe distance away with an evil smirk and mischief flashing in his eyes.

Besides these little excursions, Thor had made it his personal responsibility to teach Leif skills in combat and war. The God of Thunder had brought his nephew out to the courtyard one fine afternoon, shown the boy a wide array of weapons, ranging from swords, maces and spears of different shapes and sizes and told him to pick one. Leif walked over to a large, broad sword with a silver handle encrusted with sapphires and tried to lift the weapon with both hands. He realised however, with great indignation that he was not able to budge the heavy sword a single inch, thus failing miserably at his attempt. Thor had chuckled at his nephew’s fruitless endeavour.

“It takes years of practice and building up of strength to use a weapon as heavy as that one, Nephew.” Thor had grinned with amusement to an affronted Leif.

_And to become a brainless mass of muscle like you? No thanks!_

Leif ignored his uncle’s chortles and moved over to a smaller, lighter and more elegant looking sword. He drew it out easily with one hand and swung it about, smiling with approval at the weapon.

_Now this was more his style!_

As Leif and Thor started to spar however, the boy quickly found out that he was no match for the larger man’s strength. After finding himself knocked to the ground painfully for the third time after their weapons had collided, Leif felt his bruises gingerly while glaring at his grinning uncle.

“Do not fret Leif,” Thor had chuckled with amusement at the boy’s frustration. “After all, I had a lot more experience than you in combat and war.”

_Oh? Really now?_

Leif give a sneaky grin and focused his concentration on his right palm, managing to actually fire a blast of energy towards Thor’s feet. The god was caught unaware and knocked off balance, landing flat face down on the ground. Leif broke off into a series of hearty snickers while the flustered Thor picked himself up from the ground, shooting a furious glare at his nephew.

“That was an unfair move! You ambushed me!” Thor exclaimed angrily while Leif gave him a sly smirk.

“Well, I would have thought that someone with _a lot_ more experience in combat wouldn’t let down their guard so easily on the battle field,” Leif gave another mischievous snicker. “Besides, I wouldn’t call that an unfair move, Uncle dearest. You have your superior strength and I have my magic. This is just part of my battle style; after all, all’s fair in love and war.” Thor gave another unhappy grunt, unsure of how to answer to that and Leif gleefully stood up, readying himself for another bout with his uncle.

Leif soon found out that the future sparring sessions with Thor and the Warriors Three were excellent opportunities for him to practise his magic. He quickly learnt to better control his energy projection skills and refined it into his style of fighting, making use of his superior wit and faster speed as well, much to the disgruntled protests of the four men. They gradually grew to accept this bit of magic as a part of Leif’s combat skills however, and made extra effort to guard against it. Lady Sif, on the other hand, had proved herself to be more than a match for the boy, avoiding his energy projections with amazing speed and beating him easily with her better strength.

Leif had enjoyed these sessions, finding them to be enriching and at times, fairly amusing (especially after tripping a grouchy Volstagg or blasting away a cranky Fandral with his energy projections). He liked the company of Thor, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, although this may not be the case vice versa sometimes, especially when the erratic Leif is up to his usual tricks and pranks again. However, despite his contentment of his brief stay in Asgard, there was still one thing that had troubled Leif: Loki had not appeared in his dreams ever since the boy had stepped into the realm.

Leif had asked to meet his father on the very first day he had arrived but his request was rejected by Odin, who had stated gravely that the boy was not yet ready and the time was not yet right for his meeting with Loki. Therefore Leif had grudgingly obliged, believing that Loki would still appear and visit him in his dreams anyway. However, contrary to his beliefs, Loki had not appeared. For the past nights, Leif had gone to bed, expecting to appear in the green and silvery fog to see Loki flashing his usual smirk at him, only to be disappointed in the morning.  The boy had started to worry about the trickster, fearing that something terrible had gone wrong. Despite all he had been through, Leif had missed his father, having considered him to be one of the closest family members that he had.

It was not until that particular night, exactly two weeks after Leif had arrived in Asgard when Loki finally appeared again.

Leif grinned happily at the sight of his father, but his smile soon faltered when he saw the cold unfeeling look on the god’s face. Loki was displeased about something; there was no doubt about it.

“I find it extremely disappointing that you have not come to see me even once since the day you had arrived Leif,” Loki said quietly. “I had been waiting patiently for two whole weeks for your visit before realising that my wait had been in vain.” Leif gaped in shock at his father’s words, unsure of what to say.

“Well, I… I had asked Grandfather, I mean Odin!” Leif hastily corrected himself after seeing Loki’s eyes flash dangerously with anger at his words. “I had requested to meet you the first day I arrived, but Odin had forbidden it.” Loki looked coldly at his son and Leif felt like sinking into the ground on the spot. _This was really bad._

“So since Odin had forbidden it, you were contented with being an obedient little grandson? I would have thought that you, as my son, would have tried to find me.” Loki replied flatly, his voice shaking with anger. Leif’s face fell at his father’s sentence, dumbfounded and not knowing what to say.

“I am vexed Leif,  by the fact that you seem to prefer running around amok with your newly found _friends_ than coming to see me.” Loki hissed spitefully. “Since it looks like I am the only one who is eagerly making an effort and looking forward to our reunion, I believe that there is no point in meeting you in your dreams again. I will not return here Leif, not until you finally decide to come and meet me in person.” Loki said tartly as Leif tried to think of something say, some excuse to calm his father’s anger.

However, before Leif could mutter a single word, Loki had vanished and left his son standing there alone in the mist. Leif stared in shock at the spot where his father had just been seconds before, and a cold hollow feeling grew inside of him.

_Great, what should I do now?_


	9. The Lie

Leif's eyes scanned across the rocky terrains, searching vigorously for the opening of the cave.

_I know it's around here somewhere…_

After the last dream with Loki, the God of Mischief had stayed true to his words. For the next 3 nights, Leif had waited fruitlessly for another meeting with his father, to apologise for neglecting the god's feelings. After the third dreamless night, Leif had decided to take matters into his own hands and to search for Loki's location. He had done so by slyly bringing up the topic of his father with the ignorant Thor and the man had happily joined in the conversation, fondly recounting the stories of how he and his brother had played and fought together in the past. When Leif finally asked where Loki was imprisoned, Thor, who had let his guard down at that point, had blurted it out without much thought: In a cave at the mountains to the west of the palace.

_Now that was easy._

Leif could not help but give a tiny grin which had made his uncle suspicious and the god had solemnly warned Leif not to defy Odin's orders. After convincing Thor that he would not dream of doing such a thing, Leif had then continued the conversation to distract the god and secretly made plans in his head to find Loki. He had decided wisely to make his move the next day in case Thor was watching him and waited patiently for the opportune time to leave the palace the next afternoon, claiming that he had wanted to go off and hunt on his own. After pushing off a disappointment Thor's offer to [join](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/9/Son-of-Loki) him, Leif set off to the west, where Loki was imprisoned.

The boy had been searching for the entrance to the cave for two hours now, but to no avail. Just as Leif was about to give up, thinking that the simple-minded Thor had somehow grown smarter and tricked him, he spotted a dark opening of a cave.

_Father…_

Leif approached the cave cautiously and took a step inside, his heart pounding furiously and his nose wrinkling in disgust at the musty smell inside the cave. He took small cautious steps further into the cavern, careful not to trip over any small rocks in the darkness.

"So you have finally come to visit me, Son?" A cold voice sneered. Leif gave a small jump at the sound of his father's voice and rushed forward in the direction where the voice had come from, forgetting in his haste to further inspect the ground for obstacles. When he finally reached the source of the voice, however, Leif stopped abruptly in his tracks and gave a gasp of horror. Loki was there, wearing his usual smirk but something else had caught the boy's attention. Leif eyed, with shock, the thick metal chains that were binding his father's entire body firmly to a large boulder.

This was wrong. The entire image was wrong. Loki should be standing there, proud and upright while grinning slyly at him, as he had always been; not chained up, weak and vulnerable in this dark and musty cave.

Loki saw the aghast look on Leif's face and gave another smirk.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Loki mocked, while nodding towards the thick metal chains on his arms. "I must say that Odin has out done himself this time." The God of Mischief grinned widely at the boy, who did not return the smile.

"Why?" Leif whispered quietly, still stunned by the sight of his father's plight. Loki looked amused by this question.

"Are you asking why I had committed those supposed crimes in the past? Or are you referring to why Odin had been so hard hearted to punish me like this?" Loki asked in an amused voice, but his emerald eyes flashed with hatred. "Well, I believe the answer to both questions is the same Leif. It is because Odin had never loved me as much as he had claimed to." Leif stared at Loki sadly, dumbfounded by his father's bitter answer. It took him a few seconds to get a hold of himself and decide there and then that he would help Loki at all costs.

"Well, let me try to free you. I could melt away the metal handcuffs when I was imprisoned in S.H.I.E.L.D before, perhaps those chains would-" Leif started hopefully but was soon cut off by Loki's amused sniggers.

"Really now, Son. Do you really think that these metal bindings would be like those primitive toys that S.H.I.E.L.D uses? Your energy manipulation skills may be useful but Odin had cast a powerful enchantment on these chains. You will not be able to remove them. To free me, we will need more powerful magic or rather, a more powerful magic source." Loki smirked at Leif, who seemed astounded by his words.

"We will talk more about this in the future Leif, next time where no one else can hear us." Loki gave a cunning grin while Leif struggled to understand what his father had meant. Then, it all dawned onto him.

_Heimdall! Of course, he would be able to watch and hear our every move._

Leif shot a nervous glance back at the cave's entrance while Loki smirked at his son's panic.

"Yes, I see that you have realised what I had meant. In fact, we are about to have some unwanted company." As soon as Loki finished his sentence, a furious Thor had stormed into the cave and glared at his brother and nephew.

_Uh oh._

Leif had no choice but to leave the cavern with his raging uncle, who had started off into a heated rant over how the boy had disobeyed Odin and his orders. Just before leaving, Leif turned around and took one final glimpse at Loki, who gave his son a sympathetic smile. Leif knew what his father was trying to tell him; he would definitely be having those dreams again.

XXX

Loki gave a satisfied smirk as he watched the leaving backs of his brother and son.

_Good._

Loki had wanted Leif to meet him in person, for the boy to see and realise the gravity of his plight. The God of Lies had seen the fire in the boy's eyes earlier when he suggested removing his father's metal bindings. Leif will definitely help him. Loki sighed in content; that part of Leif is so much like Thea. The trickster recounted how his late lover had a similar fire burning in her eyes before whenever there was a need to defend Loki or her family members from other people. Yes, that determination was what Loki needed.

Loki observed how his son had furiously argued with Odin and Thor when he got back to the palace. The boy had claimed that Loki's punishment was too harsh and unnecessary but the two older gods had stuck firm to their resolutions. Odin then declared that since this was Leif's first offence, there would be no punishment inflicted but had expressively forbidden him to see Loki again without his permission, much to the defiant boy's rage. Loki grinned as Leif stormed back to his room and slammed the door into a nagging Thor's face, who had followed his nephew all the way back to 'persuade' him.

_Yes, Thor can be extremely irritating at times._

Loki waited patiently for night to come and Leif to fall asleep before closing his eyes and drifting off into the misty green and silvery land. There, Leif was already waiting anxiously for his arrival. As soon as the boy caught sight of his father, his eyes brightened up at once.

"So, what are your plans?" Leif piped up urgently as Loki gave a pleased smile. Yes, the boy cared a lot about his father indeed.

"I will need you to get an item for me Leif, something powerful that can help me break free of the enchanted bindings." Loki said calmly and gestured for the boy to remain silent when Leif opened his mouth, presumably to ask what item it was. "Patience son, your abilities and skill are still insufficient to get to the item. We will need to make some preparations." Loki grinned evilly as Leif seemed surprised and affronted at the same time by his father's words.

_It's time to teach you some magic._

XXX

Leif was thoroughly exhausted. Loki had been teaching him magic in his dreams for the past several nights and it had not been a breeze through the park for the boy.

"Magic is not an easy skill to learn, Leif." Loki had said seriously, his face grim for once. "It takes enormous mind power and self-control, something which that bumbling Thor and his three warrior stooges lack while the both of us have an abundance of. It is something that can be far more useful and powerful than the brute strength that those fools place so much emphasis on if used appropriately."

After explaining some of the basics of magic to him, Loki began to teach Leif a rather complex spell that would allow the boy to conceal himself to Heimdall's prying eyes. This was essential to their plans, Loki had said, as it would certainly not be ideal if the guard could see what Leif was doing when the boy is stealing the item. Leif had taken five days to master the spell, being new to magic. Loki had grinned gleefully at his son's progress after Leif managed to cast the spell successfully for the sixth consecutive time and announced that Leif was ready to learn the next trick: casting illusions.

As the magic required to cast illusions and create duplicate copies of himself was far more complicated and harder than the first spell, Leif found himself struggling to meet Loki's expectations. The god had at certain times, given his son encouraging advice to better improve his skills, while at others, snapped out of frustration and growled spitefully that Leif had not inherited even half of his intellect when the boy's weak illusions fluttered and disappeared. It took Leif almost two weeks to master this skill, much to Loki's disturbance and even till then, he had only been able to maintain the illusions he had created for a short fifteen seconds.

"Well that will do, I suppose." Loki had sighed when Leif's weak duplicate of himself flickered and vanished after a short while. "You can practise more in the future." Leif glared at his father with indignation. He knew that his skills in casting illusions were mediocre, but a little compliment for effort wouldn't hurt, would it?

"I had thought about teaching you teleportation, which would come in useful for the task. However, at the rate of your progress, it would take you till next year to master it and I have neither the time nor patience." Loki smirked while Leif shot him a dirty look and ignored his father's sarcastic remark.

"I guess now would be the time to tell you more about the item that I require you to acquire for me, Leif. It is located inside the Weapons' Vault in the castle, I am sure you know where that is?" Loki gave his son a questioning look while Leif nodded. Thor had eagerly shown the boy around the castle when he had first arrived, and Leif's excellent memory had allowed him to remember the place very well. "Excellent," Loki smirked slyly. "The item you will have to obtain is the Casket of Ancient Winters, the energy source of the Jotunheim." Leif's eyes widened with shock at Loki's words.

"The Casket is an extremely powerful magical relic, my son, and it can only be held, opened and used by Frost Giants as others who try to handle it will be burnt by its biting cold aura. As much as I would like to deny it, we have the blood of Frost Giants flowing through our veins," Loki said bitterly, his expression obvious that he has yet to come to terms with his parentage. "You will be able to touch and handle the Casket without being harmed, Leif and I will need you to bring it to me. With its powers to aid me, I will be able to disrupt even Odin's powers and break his enchantments. Then will I truly be free." Loki grinned evilly.

"There is no danger to fear when getting to the Casket. You can take out the guards easily with the skills I have taught you and the Destroyer, which was used to guard the relics in the past, has been, well,  _destroyed_  by Thor himself." Loki smirked as Leif listened attentively to his every sentence, not wanting to miss out any detail. "The only problem that remains," Loki continued, "is that the removal of the Casket from its position will lead to a large reduction of the cold aura radiating from it, informing Odin of its theft immediately. This can however, be countered by a single trick, one that only you can employ." Leif gaped at Loki's cunning grin, unsure of what his father meant.

"Your energy manipulation skills, Leif," Loki reminded the stunned boy gently with an amused smile plastered on his face. "You must have learnt before that the cold is not a form of energy, but rather, a lack of it. With your energy manipulation skills, you can absorb the energy from the surrounding air and create a cold aura strong enough to match that of the Casket. Trap that aura in a container and replace the Casket with it. It will radiate a freezing coldness which will reduce the drop in energy levels and help you to avoid Odin's detection." Leif nodded silently.

_Okay, this plan seems to be fail proof._

"However, the plan is not fail proof ( _oh…)_ , despite being able to replicate a cold aura to match that of the Casket, you will not have the power to create one that is everlasting." Loki continued, much to Leif's disappointment. "The aura you create will only last for at most fifteen minutes, and it would weaken greatly over time. Thus you will have to bring the Casket to me as quickly as you can." Loki gave his son another encouraging smile, which Leif promptly returned and nodded to assure his father that he understood.

Loki then set to work immediately, training the Leif to concentrate on manipulating the energy flow of the air between his hands. Leif felt his hands growing warmer and warmer as he absorbed the energy from the air, creating a misty cold fog between his palms. However, like the spells he had learnt in the past weeks, the manipulation of energy was not a simple task and Leif had been unable to drain the energy from the air consistently, thus resulting in the misty aura disappearing after a few seconds.

After a few more nights of practise and Loki tantrums, Leif was able to conjure up a stable, freezing mist in the air. Loki reached his hand out into the misty cold aura and smiled with approval as his hand started to slowly turn an eerie bright blue. Leif stared at his father's hand with horror as the god withdrew it and inspected it carefully while it changed back to its original skin colour.

"Excellent Leif, this cold aura that you have created will be perfect for our plans." Loki gave another evil grin and Leif smiled back weakly. However, there was a tiny nagging feeling at the back of the boy's head, one that he could not ignore.

"Um… the Casket, what would you do with it after you are free?" Leif asked his father timidly while Loki stared at him with surprise.

"Well, take it with us of course! The Casket of Ancient Winters holds an unimaginable power! It will be of great use to us in the future." Loki sneered while Leif seemed even more down cast.

"Well, I thought it would not be a good thing to do that…" Leif gave a nervous shrug and shifted around uncomfortably as Loki stared at him incredulously. Then the God of Mischief realised with disgust what the boy was trying to say.

 _The boy feels guilty about stealing from his beloved Grandfather and Uncle Thor!_  Loki thought angrily to himself as he glared at his son. _Sentiment… bah!_ However, not wanting to start an argument with Leif, the god simply forced a horrible grin onto his face.

"Well, if you feel bad about bringing it with us, we could always put it back after all of this." Loki smirked as he saw Leif's face lit up at once.

_How could my son possibly be so naïve?_

XXX

Leif's heart pounded furiously as he approached the large golden door of the Weapons' Vault. He had concealed himself from Heimdall's vision with the spell Loki had taught him and was now about to put his father's plans into action. He peered inside and saw two Asgardian soldiers guarding the vault, pacing up and down the lane. At the very end of the lane, placed on a pedestal made of stone, was the Casket of the Ancient Winters, giving off an icy blue glow. Leif gave an evil smirk.

_Looks like it's time for a distraction._

Leif focused and created an illusion of himself. He directed the illusion to walk to the entrance of the vault and run off in the opposite direction from his own location after the guards had yelled out in alarm at spotting the intruder. Leif gave a satisfied grin when he saw the two guards rush out of the vault and confront his illusion, which he had directed to turn and face them as well. The guards were stunned by the sight of their prince, not realising that the real Leif was actually behind them.

"Wha-" Before one of the guards could finish his sentence, Leif had fired two blasts of energy out of his palms at both of their backs, slamming them against the wall behind his illusion and knocking them out promptly. Smirking at the sight of the two unconscious guards, Leif turned and entered the Weapons' Vault, heading straight for the Casket. He brought out a golden box about the size of the Casket and placed both his palms over the opening of the container. Leif concentrated and absorbed the energy from the air inside the box, feeling his hands grow warmer with the energy. He watched as a cold mist formed inside and the gold walls of the box frosted over with a layer of ice. Satisfied, Leif placed the lid over the container promptly and felt the cold aura radiating from it.

_Perfect._

Leif stepped up cautiously to the Casket and slowly replaced the relic with the golden container, careful not to remove the Casket abruptly, as Loki had warned him against.

_Easy now._

Finally, the Casket of Ancient Winters was safely in Leif's hands while the golden box stood firmly on the pedestal where the Casket had once been. Leif grinned and turned to leave immediately. Loki had told him that he would only have 10 minutes to bring the Casket to him before Odin realised that it was stolen. As Leif walked down the lane, he suddenly caught sight of himself in one of the reflective surfaces of another relic and froze in his tracks. The boy gasped with horror and almost dropped the Casket while he stared in disbelief at his own reflection. His skin had turned a horrendous bright blue and his once emerald green eyes were now blood red.

_Is this the monster that I truly am? A Frost Giant?_

Leif remembered how Loki had always referred to his parentage with loathing and now understood why. The boy continued to gaze at his reflection with abhorrence before snapping out of his stupor.

_Damn, I had wasted a precious 30 seconds of my 10 minutes._

Leif made his way hastily to Loki' cave, cautious not to let anyone see him in his current state and distracting any oblivious passer-bys with his illusions.

"My, you seem a little different today." Loki grinned with delight at the sight of his son and the Casket. Leif scowled heavily, annoyed by his father's sarcastic poke at his transformation.

"Bring the Casket over to me, Leif." Loki ordered firmly and the boy stepped over to his father, placing the Casket of Ancient Winters on the god's chest. Although he had expected it to happen, Leif could not help but give a little gasp when he saw Loki transforming into the blue skinned, red eyed monster he should have been. Leif gazed down at his own body and saw, much to his relief, that his skin had started to fade back into its original colour. His attention then returned to Loki who gave an evil grin as the powerful magic from the Casket surged through his body. The god gave a loud cry and the chains binding his body froze up and snapped, falling into pieces on the ground.

Loki straightened himself slowly from the boulder and gave a long stretch. He then turned and smirked at Leif, who was staring at all of this with amazement.

"Well done, my son." Loki smiled with pride at Leif, who grinned back weakly, still stunned by what had happened. "Now, we must make haste in leaving Asgard immediately. Odin and Thor will be after us soon. We will bring the Casket with us and leave for Earth to make further plans for our conquest in the future." Loki smirked with amusement as Leif stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" Leif asked incredulously, shocked by what Loki had just said.

"Don't look so surprised Leif. Did you really think that I would return the Casket of Ancient Winters to Odin and that bumbling Thor, who have neither the brains nor ability to use it?" Loki sneered and Leif's surprised stare turned into an angry scowl.

"But you promised to let me return the Casket," the boy argued furiously but was met with merely an amused grin from Loki.

"I had promised, but as you yourself had said in the past, promises are meant to be broken, aren't they?" Loki replied mockingly while Leif's eyes flashed angrily. "Besides, the Casket of Ancient Winters is rightfully ours Leif. I am the son of Laufey, king of Jotunheim, thus making me the prince of that wretched race. Since this is their energy source, it would be rightfully my possession as well." Loki chuckled at the sight of Leif's sullen face.

"Cheer up boy. There is no need to feel guilty over taking the Casket. Your efforts will be rewarded when you see its true power, when we use it to conquer the realms, starting with Earth. No protests." Loki said firmly when the furious Leif seemed about to argue back. "When I become King of Earth, you will be my sole heir and will bask in the glory along with me. I had said that you were born with glorious purpose, didn't I?" Loki grinned evilly. "Join me, my son. Together, we will defeat those who have scorned and mocked us in the past. We will gain power over the realms and we will be feared." Loki declared and gazed expectantly at his son, waiting for an answer.

Leif was extremely tempted by Loki's offer. Unlimited power and a chance to rule with his father, the only true family he had left? Yes, that had sounded alluring to the boy. However, when considering his options, Leif could not help but think of Oliver, Eleanor and surprisingly, Thor. What would they do if Leif had helped Loki to attack Earth? And to top it off, there was this little childlike voice that was screaming at the back of his head.

_He lied to me. How could he lie to me?_

"No." Leif replied curtly. "Give me the Casket, I am going to put that back." Loki rolled his eyes with exasperation at the boy's reply.

 _Why is the kid so aggravatingly stubborn?_ Loki thought in bemusement to himself.  _Looks like I have no other choice. There is more time to persuade him in the future._

"Fine, take it." Loki said with a sly smile on his face as he held the Casket out to his son. Leif, who was surprised by how easily Loki had given in, stupidly reached out for the relic before realising his mistake abruptly.

_Shit!_

Before Leif could react, he found himself being blasted back by an icy force and slammed against the wall of the cavern. In the boy's daze, he saw Loki smirking at him before teleporting away with the Casket.

_No!_

"Leif!" An enraged voice had roared and a flurry of footsteps sounded in the cave as Thor and the Warriors Three rushed in. The four men took a glance of horror at the now empty boulder where Loki had once been and turned onto Leif immediately.

"Where is Loki, Leif? WHERE IS HE?" Thor bellowed in rage as he grabbed the horrified boy's shoulders and shook him violently, forcing him to reply.

_Oh my god, this is bad…_

"Umm… he vanished?" Leif muttered lamely as Thor glared furiously at him. He knew that he is in trouble. Serious trouble.


	10. Home Again

Odin gazed down grimly at the sullen Leif standing before him. The boy had committed a grave offense. Despite all of Odin’s efforts to prevent this, he had strayed, stealing the Casket of Ancient Winters and helping his father, Loki to escape.

“Why did you do this?” Odin asked quietly but Leif did not answer. He remained silent and refused to look at Odin as a sign of defiance.

“Leif-” Thor was about to berate his nephew angrily again but Odin gestured for him to remain quiet. It will not do for Thor to further aggravate the boy. Odin wanted to know Leif’s reasons for doing this, not to push his grandson further away.

“Why did you do this, Leif?” Odin repeated his question once more and this time, Leif turned to the god. Odin could see a tinge of hurt and anger in the boy’s eyes.

“He is my father. I did not want to see him trapped, caged like some weak and helpless animal.”  Leif snapped angrily as he glared at Odin.

“Leif,” Odin said calmly. “Loki is my son. I loved him as much as you do.”

“Well you made a fine show of it!” Odin stared grievously at Leif as the boy made the angry retort.

_It seems that the boy can be as obstinate and spiteful as his father is when he wishes to be._

“Loki was imprisoned for his crimes. It was a harsh punishment, but the sins that he had committed were equally as grave. I had not meant to keep him in that state forever, Leif. It was supposed to only keep him from causing any more harm until the day he truly repents.” Odin watched grimly as his grandson’s resolve faltered and the boy simply stood there, speechless and unsure of how to further defend his actions. “And now, you have released him and equipped him with even greater power. Although your intentions were good natured, your actions will undoubtedly trigger off a series of events that will place many lives in peril, including those innocent people who live in your former home, Earth.” Leif jolted up in horror at Odin’s words.

 _The boy cannot stay here any longer,_ Odin thought sadly to himself. _It will not do him any good to remain in Asgard while the people here point their fingers accusingly at him for his actions._

“The consequences of your actions will be devastating, and your offense is so grave that I am afraid you may not stay in Asgard any longer.” Odin continued solemnly, much to the shock of Leif as well as Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, all whom were present in the great hall as well.

“Father, this punishment may not be necessary-” Thor began in an anxious voice to defend Leif but was stopped by Odin, who held his hand up as a gesture for silence.

“You will be sent back to Earth, where you will have to atone for your actions. And until you prove yourself worthy once more, you may not return to Asgard.” Odin finished firmly and no one else in the hall dared to argue again. They knew that the god’s decision was final.

“I volunteer to leave for Earth along with the boy, Father,” Thor spoke up quietly and Odin turned to his son with surprise.

“Thor!” Lady Sif, who was standing next to Thor, muttered urgently to him in an effort to stop the god but to no avail.

“I had not been able to keep an eye on Leif properly, as I had promised. I volunteer to return to Earth with him, to guide him and to defend Earth if Loki tries to invade it again.” Thor declared with determination in his eyes and Odin nodded. He knew that his son can be extremely stubborn once he had made a decision. Besides, it might not be such a bad thing if Thor followed Leif to Earth. He will be able to keep the boy in check as well as keep an eye out for his wayward brother. Odin then dismissed the gloomy party in the hall, saying that Thor and Leif will leave tomorrow morning, once he had conjured up enough magic to open a portal for them.

After Leif, Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had left the hall, Frigga turned to her husband anxiously.

“Do you really think that sending the boy back to Earth will be the correct decision?”

Odin gazed into Frigga’s concerned eyes and gave a comforting smile.

“Yes, my wife. The boy needs to grow up. The trip to Earth will do him a lot of good, as it had done for Thor in the past.” Odin said in assuring tones and his wife returned a tiny smile.

XXX

Leif was back in his room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling in despair.

When they had been dismissed by Odin, Leif had stormed back to his room, effectively ignoring the stares and murmurs of his uncle, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. He had wanted some peace and quiet, some time alone for him to reflect on what he had done as well as the possible consequences of his actions. However, Thor had most irritatingly decided not to give his nephew that peace. The god had followed Leif back to his room and barged in, despite the boy’s futile efforts to close the door.

“Why did you do this Leif?” Thor had bellowed furiously, glaring at his equally provoked nephew. “Had we not treated you as part of our dearest family since the day you arrived? Had I not done everything I could to make you feel at home and welcomed here in Asgard? How could you betray Father, betray me, betray all of us?”

“Family?” Leif retorted scornfully. “You are not my real family, _Uncle…_ ” The boy then gave a disdainful smirk at Thor’s shocked expression. “Yes, I know. Loki told me. I saw for myself when I handled the Casket. I am a Frost Giant, not an Asgardian. You all were never my true family!”

“So because of that, you decided to help Loki escape and steal a dangerous relic, giving him the power to destroy Earth?” The Thunder God asked incredulously, stunned and hurt by Leif’s words.

“Yes,” Leif replied simply, glaring defiantly into Thor’s eyes.

“That is not an acceptable excuse, Leif!” Thor roared furiously and stepped closer to his nephew. However this time, Leif did not flinch and back away.

“Oh? Then what is acceptable? Sitting there to watch as you and Odin chain my father to a rock in a filthy cave while declaring about how much you love him all the time?” Leif shot back coldly, much to his uncle’s vexation.

“I loved him Leif, Loki is my brother.” Thor said sadly, staring at the sullen boy.

“Well, Loki doesn’t see it! And I don’t either!” Leif replied tartly. “If you really love him as much as you claim to, then prove it! Would you be willing to give up the throne of Asgard for him?” Leif taunted while Thor seemed flabbergasted by his words.

“Wha-” Thor stuttered, not sure of how to reply. “That is not the point Nephew! Stop trying to avert the topic!”

“Oh it is the point Uncle. It is the point that Father had been sore about all this time.” Leif said quietly, his voice shaking with anger. “Now get out of my room, I want to be alone.”

Thor gazed sadly once more at Leif and left the room without another word, knowing that the boy would not listen any further. Once his Uncle was gone, Leif had then plopped down onto the bed, too tired and dispirited to do anything else.

Leif knew that he was in the wrong. He knew that he should not have stolen the Casket and released his father. As Odin had said, his actions would lead to the loss of many lives. However, the thing that was biting into his heart the most was how his father had lied and betrayed his feelings. Leif was bitter and sore about that fact and he had taken out his frustration and anger on Thor. Thor was right, Odin was right, and Leif knew that he was wrong. Leif gave another unhappy sigh and thought about Odin’s sentence.

 _Well, being sent back to Earth isn’t that bad_.

Leif had missed Earth despite having grown fond of Asgard in his brief stay. At least he would be back in his old home planet, and he might even have a chance to see Oliver and Eleanor again! However, despite brightening up at that thought, Leif still had a tingling uncomfortable feeling at the back of his heart. After all, being allowed to go back to Earth and being banished back to Earth were two completely different matters altogether.

XXX

Thor watched as Leif bade his friends a sad farewell. Despite all the things the boy had done, he had forged a firm friendship with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, and they were sorry to see him go. The God of Thunder observed quietly as Leif attempted to grin and cheer the forlorn Fandral and doleful Volstagg up by commenting that they could come visit him on Earth if the Bifrost was ever repaired.

The boy had offered to show Fandral around the town and to introduce him to pretty girls he knew if the swashbuckler ever came. He had also added that there were a lot of interesting and delicious food on Earth that he could recommend to Volstagg and the enormous man had managed to give him a weak grin. Leif then thumped a dejected Hogun on the shoulder, which was a rare sight as the warrior is usually expressionless, and said that it would be nice if the man came to visit him as well. Finally, Leif gave Lady Sif a kiss on her hand, a tradition the boy had learnt during his stay in Asgard and bade her goodbye.

“Farewell Leif. Please behave on Earth and listen to Thor, would you?” Lady Sif gave Leif a rueful smile and he grinned weakly in return. Somehow Leif had a vague feeling he will not be listening much to his Uncle Thor.

Thor placed a firm hand on Leif’s shoulders and led him down the hall to Odin, who was waiting quietly for the both of them. Leif had remained silent throughout the brisk walk, not quite ready and willing to talk to his uncle yet. Odin stared gravely at the boy once he reached.

“You will now leave for Earth as punishment for your actions. However, always remember that Asgard will be your home and that we will always welcome you back with open arms once you have atoned for the sins you have committed.” Leif nodded glumly at Odin’s words and the god chanted a string of magic words, whisking the boy and Thor away in a portal back to Earth.

XXX

Director Nick Fury was sitting in his office as he always did, listening to Phil Coulson’s passionate report about how the agent’s plan to integrate Captain America back into the modern world was progressing along excellently.  Nick soon drifted off into his own world, bored to bits by Phil’s enthusiastic rattle of how Steve Rogers had taken interest in the pet rock fad in the 70s.

It had been almost two months since that boy, Leif, had left for Asgard and life was getting really peaceful around here. Other than the usual minor missions to address some petty threats that were disturbing the country’s peace, there had been no other crazy, maniacal super villain that had tried to take over the Earth. There had been no further need to assemble the Avengers since the day the boy was gone and Nick sincerely hoped that this will remain the case for a long time.

“Yes, Captain Rogers has an extremely high aptitude for learning boss,” Phil continued earnestly. “I am sure that he will soon be able to-”

Nick Fury never managed to hear what Captain America will soon be able to do, however, as at that very moment, Phil’s speech was interrupted by another deafening shatter of the director’s office windows. Terrified witless by the enormous crash, Phil Coulson had fell and sprawled face down across the ground while Nick, who was caught by surprise by the noise, had hurtled forward and spread his upper torso over his desk.

“Greetings Director Fury,” Nick heard the deep solemn voice of Thor and turned around furiously to berate the god.

“Thor! When will you ever learn to enter the building through the doors? I do not appreciate it when my office windows are smashed every time you-” Nick Fury started off heatedly but stopped suddenly when he saw that the God of Thunder was not alone. Nick stared incredulously at the black haired, green eyed boy who was now timidly standing behind his uncle’s large body and flashing a weak smile at the director.

_Why? Why is the boy back? Oh my god, this is a bad sign…_

Nick Fury forced himself to remain calm as he glared at the guilty looking Thor and pointed to Leif.

“Why is he back here?” Nick demanded, trying to keep his voice from shaking as much as possible. He had only needed to observe Thor’s sheepish expression and how Leif shuffled his feet nervously to know that something bad has happened. Something really bad.

“Well?” Nick repeated grimly once more, although he dreaded the answer as much as Thor felt reluctant to tell him.

“I am afraid I have terrible news, Director,” Thor said gravely. “Loki has escaped.”

XXX

Leif soon found himself sitting at a large round table in a conference room inside the S.H.I.E.L.D building along with a group of disgruntled Avengers. Once the words about his father’s escape had left Thor’s mouth, Director Fury had ordered a flustered Phil Coulson to assemble the Avengers immediately for an important meeting. Phil had contacted and brought (or dragged, in the case of an extremely unhappy Tony Stark) the members of the Avengers into the room one by one, and now all of them were anxiously waiting for news about Loki’s escape.

Thor started off first by gravely informing them of the situation and soon hurriedly passed the spotlight over to a terrified Leif, who had then recounted how he had helped Loki to break out of his prison. After Leif had finished, the room was in an eerie silence and he could feel all the dagger sharp glares that were being thrown in his direction.

“Could you remind me again about how you said the boy would not be a threat if he was brought back to Asgard?” An infuriated Tony asked Thor, who looked extremely disgruntled and did not know how to answer. “Well, you are right. The boy is not only a threat, he is a walking bomb. And he has now set off an even bigger and crazier bomb!” Tony snapped angrily. Leif felt himself sinking deeper down into his chair, desperately wishing that Loki had taught him how to teleport so that he could vanish on the spot.

“Well, there is no point about crying over spilt milk now is there?” Clint Barton commented dryly. “The most important thing now is to stay on our guard for any tricks Loki might play and to do our best to thwart his schemes.” The other Avengers nodded in agreement while Tony still didn’t seem convinced, but had most tactfully decided not to say anything else.

“Well, now that we sort of have a _plan_ , what do we do with him then?” Natasha nodded towards Leif’s direction and the boy felt every single pair of eyes in the room trained on him again.

“Lock him up. The kid is dangerous.” Tony said simply.

“You can’t do that! Leif may be Loki’s son, but he has not done anything to harm anyone yet!” Thor protested indignantly, anxious to protect his nephew despite all the trouble Leif had caused.

“Oh really? No harm? Are you sure? So releasing a crazy mass murderer out into the world isn’t considered causing harm anymore?” Tony retorted tartly while Thor seemed dumbfounded by what the billionaire had said.

“Tony is right,” Nick Fury said grimly. “The boy is dangerous. We can’t risk having him loose and joining Loki in his schemes to destroy the Earth.” Thor looked even more aghast by the director’s words and opened his mouth once more to protest.

“Leif may have committed an error but he has not hurt anyone intentionally yet. We can’t just imprison him for something he has not done and may not even do in the future.” The god said and looked around the table desperately for one of his friends to back him up.

“You know, I think Thor has a point there.” Steve Rogers finally spoke up. “The boy may be potentially dangerous but it is true that he has not done anything to harm anyone’s life on purpose. Perhaps we should give him a chance.”

“A chance to what? Blow up half of the Earth?” Tony chimed in sarcastically and Steve glared at the billionaire.

“Oh, you are a fine one to talk. Your Stark Industries had helped to blow up the other half of the Earth in the earlier wars.” Captain America snapped back in irritation.

“Excuse me? Who was the one who donned a spangly, flashy, horrendous outfit and travelled all over America with a bunch of singing, dancing girls to promote World War 2?” Tony replied scornfully, his eye brows raised in a mocking expression.

“It was a necessary effort to aid America in the war against the Nazis.” Steve argued heatedly.

“No, it was propaganda.”

Leif watched with amusement as Steve Rogers and Tony Stark engaged in a furious argument over whose participation in previous wars had caused greater damage, completely forgetting the reason why they were even in the room in the first place. Thor and Director Fury, on the other hand, had come close to blows while debating over Leif’s innocence and whether they should keep the boy caged. Bruce Banner had weakly tried to intervene and calm the men down but failed miserably as all four men ignored him completely. The offended scientist had then slumped back down onto his chair and muttered under his breath how _he_ should be the one who gets angry when a situation arises. Natasha Romanoff simply sat on her chair, rolling her eyes in disgust at the two pairs of bickering men. Clint Barton, who was sitting next to Leif, reached over and patted the boy sympathetically on the shoulder.

“This happens all the time, kid.” The master marksman explained to the amused boy. “You will get used to it.”

“Oh really? I don’t see how this needs any getting used to.” Leif turned and gave Clint a smirk that had resembled Loki’s so much, it had caused the man to flinch involuntarily. “I find all of this extremely entertaining.”

Leif turned to watch the spectacle once more, sniggering elatedly to himself while Clint stared at him in disbelief, still disturbed by the boy’s words.

 _How could someone be so much like Loki?_ Clint thought to himself in bemusement as he shivered once more at the memory of that maniacal god. The master archer then started to wonder if Tony’s suggestion of keeping the boy locked up would be the right choice after all.


	11. Recollections

Leif was lying down on the bed inside the room allocated to him in the S.H.I.E.L.D building, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the events that had been happening recently.

It has been six days since that meeting in the conference room with the Avengers. After arguing among themselves for two whole hours, an irritated Natasha had finally stood up and stopped the men. She had stated flatly that almost everyone in the room, including herself, had committed mistakes in the past and if they had been given a second chance to start their lives anew, the boy should be given one as well. Her argument and dangerously fiery eyes, along with the fact that Thor had been about to thrash the room with the Mjolnir, finally managed to convince Nick Fury and the others to give Leif an opportunity to start anew. Tony Stark was still reluctant about not locking the boy up in chains; however since he was hopelessly outnumbered by the rest of the people in the room, the billionaire simply sat back on his chair and sulked.

Therefore Leif was now given a room in the S.H.I.E.L.D building where his every action is currently under heavy scrutiny and inspection. Clint Barton had suggested helpfully that Leif’s skills and abilities may be of enormous use to the organisation if the boy is properly trained and made an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. After much consideration, Nick Fury had announced (much to Thor’s delight, Leif’s disdain and Tony’s horror) that the boy will be kept under probation and that he would have to undergo training and follow the rules if he wished to become a member of S.H.I.E.L.D in the future.

Leif gave another tired sigh. For the past few days, S.H.I.E.L.D had organised training sessions as well as introductory lectures about their workings for the boy, boring him to no end. Since he was barred from leaving the building and had to follow a strict routine, Leif had to constantly search for new and amusing ways to entertain himself other than playing pranks on Thor.

He had first practised his illusion casting skills diligently and realised to his delight that he was now able to create more copies of himself that lasted for a longer time. He had used this skill to shock a clueless Maria Hill who had come to escort him to his next training session, only to find herself walking into a room full of sniggering, grinning Leifs. The female agent had gaped in surprise and gazed around frantically, not knowing which Leif to address. Leif had also managed to amuse himself by blasting small projections of energy at Phil Coulson’s feet, tripping the agent over every time the he came to debrief the boy after a training or lecture session, much to the man’s indignation. Within the short span of six days, every single agent in the building had learnt to become cautious around the cunning boy in case they became entangled in one of his tricks. However, Leif’s fun was placed on halt after he had managed to incur even the weary Fury’s wrath when he went too far in one of his pranks.

Leif had conjured up one of his illusions the day before and had out of boredom, directed it to dash out of the building to see what reactions it would trigger. The reactions were not quite what he had expected. Thinking that the boy had managed to escape, the emergency alarms were sounded and a widespread panic overtook the entire building. Thirty eight flustered agents, along with one hysterical Thor, had rushed out in a fruitless attempt to stop the boy, who was of course still in the building the whole time. Phil Coulson had later reported that Thor had caused more trouble than stop it when the god recklessly dashed out onto the busy road, almost causing major traffic accidents when the cars swerved about dangerously to avoid hitting the large man, who had been bellowing out for his nephew the entire time.

Needless to say, Nick Fury was not at all amused when he found the supposedly missing boy hiding in a corner inside the building, sniggering uncontrollably to himself. The enraged man had marched Leif furiously back to his room and threatened in an extremely menacing voice that he would not hesitate to lock the boy up in an iron container 100 feet under the ground if the boy continued to misbehave. As Director Fury did not seem like he was joking, Leif had decided to be good for a few days and to let the initial commotion die down before he continued with any pranks.

However, after only 13 hours of not causing any mischief, Leif was extremely bored again. The chaos and commotion he had caused provided him with a source of amusement as well as acting as a form of distraction from his troubles. And currently, there was only one trouble on Leif’s mind: Loki. The boy had not quite forgiven his father yet for lying to him and snatching the Casket away. On the very first day he had returned to Earth, Loki had appeared in his dreams once more, to apologise and persuade Leif to join him. However, Leif had not been in the mood to listen and had most ungraciously ordered Loki to get out of his dreams, which the god had most unhappily obliged.

Since then, his father had not bothered to appear anymore and Leif told himself that he couldn’t care less. Despite all of this, there had been a tiny bit of Leif’s heart that had missed the man terribly, although the boy had obstinately refused to acknowledge it.

Leif got up from the bed and walked over to the mirror placed in his room. He ruffled his hair a little and stared at his reflection with distaste. After a few sleepless nights and the extremely boring daily routine, Leif had looked lethargic and he readily decided that he didn’t like this new look.

_Maybe it’s time to go get some more exercise._

After some thought, Leif dressed himself in the black track suit S.H.I.E.L.D had provided for him and left his room, heading towards the gym in the building.

XXX

Steve Rogers pummelled the punching bag in front of him furiously, his mind flashing with a flurry of thoughts about his past. He remembered how he had fought in the war against the Nazis, how he had battled Red Skull in the battleship. He remembered his war comrades, his friend Bucky and most of all, his lover Peggy.

Steve missed all of them dearly. It had seemed extremely unfair, for him to sacrifice himself to save New York and to be given another chance to live, only to find himself in an entirely strange new world and all his friends and loved ones dead. Steve still could not adapt to this bizarre world that was supposed to be 70 years in the future from his time. No matter how much he tried and how eager Phil Coulson was to help him, all those readings of what had happened in the world since he was frozen seemed to be only a study of a different world to him. This was not his world, at least, not the one he had known. After all, reading about something and experiencing it himself were two completely different matters. Thus the Captain had contented himself with spending most of his days in the gym working out or taking on missions given to him by Nick Fury to protect the security of the planet, although Phil had dryly stated that his actions may soon cause a shortage of punching bags in America.

Steve gave the punching bag one last furious punch and watched as the bag flew off its hook and landed on the opposite side of the gym with its contents spilling out. Still unsatisfied, he bent over to pick up another punching bag before he spotted Leif standing at the entrance of the gym. The boy’s emerald green eyes were trained on the Captain and there was a certain bored expression on his face.

_Jesus, since when had that kid been there staring at me?_

Steve was just getting over his shock of how the boy had snuck up and observed him so quietly when Leif finally spoke up.

“Well, that was an awful waste of sand.” The boy gave a smirk which Steve found extremely disconcerting. Captain America lifted up another punching bag and placed it on the hook before turning back to Leif.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Steve asked the bored boy. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else, training?” Leif gave a nonchalant shrug and walked over closer to the blonde man.

“Nah… got a day off. It seems like Fury and the others got as tired of me as I got of them.” Leif grinned evilly and Steve gave a wry smile.

“Oh I’ve heard. You have managed to give 58 of the best trained agents in S.H.I.E.L.D panic attacks and nervous breakdowns in your brief stay of six days. Phil Coulson had informed me of that.” Steve Rogers then turned around and started to work on the punching bag once more while Leif stared at him bemusedly.

“Are you going to do that all day?” The boy asked in a bored voice. Steve stopped abruptly at Leif’s question and turned back towards him, irritated by his interruptions. “I mean, the punching bag can’t be much of a challenge for you, can it? It’s not a moving target after all.” Leif gave another sly smirk as Steve seemed taken aback by what he had said.

“So you want to challenge me, kid?” Steve asked with amusement as Leif simply gave another shrug. The Captain smiled at Leif’s confidence.

_Now this boy is interesting._

A few minutes later, both Steve and Leif were in the old fashioned boxing ring in the gym, getting ready to spar.

“I am not going to go easy on you,” Steve Rogers grinned at Leif, who seemed affronted by what the larger, more muscular man had said.

“Worry about yourself,” Leif sneered and Steve could have laughed out loud at how offended the boy seemed.

Soon, both of them were in the middle of the ring, exchanging blows and dodging each other’s attacks vigorously. Steve was impressed by the boy’s speed and strength. He had wondered in the past how a boy of Leif’s size and build could have possibly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D’s building, but now he understood. Leif’s reflexes, strength and speed were above that of an average human’s and Captain America found himself struggling as hard as he could to fend off the boy’s attacks.

_Now this kid provides a real challenge._

After battling for a few minutes, Steve found an opening in Leif’s defences and threw a punch, catching the boy in his abdomen. Leif stumbled backwards onto the ground, obviously winded by the blow and coughed, glaring at the older man as he did so.

“Not bad kid. You are not bad at all.” Steve grinned down at the boy and Leif gave a cunning smirk back.

“Oh, I had tons of practice back then in Asgard,” Leif replied slyly and directed his right palm straight at the man. Before Steve could react, Leif had fired a blast of energy from his palm, hitting the man squarely in the chest and causing him to fly backwards and knock painfully into one of the wooden posts. Now it was the Captain’s turn to become winded and he nursed the area he was hit painfully while shooting Leif a dirty look.

“That was a cheap move.” Steve growled while Leif simply smirked back. The battle then continued, this time with Leif making use of his energy projections as well while Steve guarded against them carefully. After about thirty minutes more of the workout, Steve called for a time out which Leif had appreciatively agreed to. The two then sat side by side on the edge of the ring, gulping down bottles of water while wiping the sweat off their faces.

“You can really put up a fight kid,” Steve chuckled pleasantly. “You are a real challenge.” Leif grinned at the compliment.

“Well, you are a real challenge too. Perhaps you should spar with my uncle someday.” Leif replied cheekily and Steve laughed at his answer. Both of them then sat there for an awkward 30 seconds, not sure of what else to say.

“So how is it like to suddenly wake up to a whole new world?” Leif asked all of a sudden, hoping to break the silence. Steve smiled sadly at his question. Now that was a topic he would have liked to avoid.

“Oh, you know, unfamiliar. Different. It’s not a good feeling at all.” Steve replied quietly.

“I know that feeling. I felt the same way when I went to Asgard. Everything was new.” Leif said sympathetically and Steve gave a rueful smile at his reply.

“Well, at least you are back now. I can’t possibly go back. All the people who were close to me are dead.” Steve said sorrowfully.

_Damn, why am I even talking about that with this boy?_

Leif stared at Steve’s forlorn expression for a moment before giving a knowing grin.

“Oh, so you are missing your lover, are you?” Leif teased while Steve glared at him, affronted by what he had just said.

“I don’t see how any of this can be funny. Didn’t you have the feeling of missing anyone before?” Steve retorted indignantly while Leif seemed abashed by his words. Of course he had, Leif thought as his mind started to drift off towards Oliver, Eleanor and much to his resentment, Loki.

“Well, I had. My parents.” Leif admitted and shrugged it off while Steve’s face softened.

“No girl?” Steve asked before he could stop himself. Somehow there was something about Leif that had made the man interested to know more about him, although Steve couldn’t explain what it was.

“I had many girls. Which one are you talking about?” Leif gave another smirk and the Captain found himself frowning in disgust.

“You remind me of Bucky.” Steve started but stopped suddenly when a pang of sadness shot through his heart. _Damn, talking about Bucky was painful._

“Who’s Bucky?” Leif asked curiously and Steve gave a heavy sigh.

“A close friend. He died in the war.” Steve muttered quietly, desperately wishing to change the topic.

“How did he die?” Leif asked innocently, further aggravating the man. Steve was unsure if the boy was provoking him on purpose or if he was really oblivious to his pain. However, there was a part of him that had an urge to talk about Bucky, to spill out all the pain. Although Steve would not have chosen Leif as the person to confide in under normal circumstances, he had felt a sudden impulse to talk about his friend with the boy then.

“We were on a train, fighting the enemy’s machines. I was knocked backwards by the robot’s blast and dropped my shield. Bucky picked it up and tried to defend me, but he got blasted off the train and fell down the mountains.” Steve closed his eyes with pain at the memory. “It was all my fault.” Leif stared quietly at the woebegone man, trying to think of something to say.

“You know, if I were any much like Bucky as you had mentioned, I could probably tell you what he would do if he was here right now.” Leif finally said and Steve looked at him in wonder. “He would have punched you in the face.”

Steve could have rolled his eyes with disdain at the boy’s words. How could he be so stupid? Hadn’t the others warned him about Leif’s antics and how much he was like his father? And there Steve was, pouring his heart out to the boy and expecting him to give a sensible reply. Yes, he had totally walked straight into the boy’s trap. He deserved that snide remark.

However, Leif didn’t smirk like he usually did. In fact, the boy looked really serious.

“Bucky sacrificed himself to save you, because he believed that you were worth his life to save. He considered you as a friend, an equal and yet I have the teeniest feeling that you seem to think of him as a weaker person who needs to be saved.” Leif said quietly while Steve’s eyes grew wide with shock at his words. “But that won’t work, because in a friendship, there is no weaker or stronger individual. There are only those who are willing to risk everything they have for a friend. Bucky gave up his life, not to see you wallowing in guilt and self-despair at his memory; he would have wanted you to be proud of having him as a friend, just like he was proud of you. He made that choice; it had never been your fault. That would be what Bucky had wanted. It would be what I would have wanted.” Leif finished matter-of-factly and Steve gave him a rueful smile.

“Except for the fact that I am not your friend, of course!” Leif added hastily when he saw Steve’s smile and the soldier laughed with amusement at the boy’s anxiety.

“You know what, kid? I think you are not as bad as they say.” Steve grinned as he saw Leif’s face twist into a look of disgust at his words.

“Please don’t go around and spread rumours about my humanity,” The boy snapped tartly. “It will be very bad for my reputation. Besides, you did me a favour in the past by asking Fury to give me another chance, didn’t you?” Leif folded his arms defensively. “Well, I don’t like to owe favours.”

Steve gave an amused little chuckle at Leif’s words.

“Okay, I get it kid. I helped you out once in the past and now you helped me, so we are square.” The Captain grinned and Leif gave a satisfied smirk in return.

“About time you found out,” Leif grinned mischievously. “Now how about another round, old man? I am not going to go easy on you this time.”

“Challenge accepted,” Steve chuckled good-naturedly as he followed Leif back into the boxing ring.


	12. The Monster Within

Leif placed both his hands on the rectangular slab of iron before him.

_Come on, focus._

He concentrated his mind and felt the solid metal under his hands slowly melt and transform into a puddle of molten liquid.

"Okay, good job kid. We got the data we needed. You can come out now." Bruce Banner's voice sounded in his earpiece and Leif gave a satisfied smile. He turned to exit the room, whose walls was made of a transparent glass like material and saw the scientist giving him a thumbs-up and a grin from outside the room. Earlier that morning, Leif had woken up with cramps and aches all over his [body](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/12/Son-of-Loki) from the sparring match he had with Captain America the previous day. He had groaned and got off his bed to prepare for another tediously boring day when Maria Hill knocked on his door and informed him that there will be a change of plans for the day's activities.

Leif was then brought into Nick Fury's office where Bruce Banner and Tony Stark (who had come for a visit) were also present. The director then informed a surprised Leif that he would be working with Bruce for a short period of time so that the scientist could conduct an experiment and investigate more into his energy manipulation skills, which may produce useful results for S.H.I.E.L.D. This news had displeased Leif immensely, as he did not fancy becoming a laboratory experiment. Bruce Banner, on the other hand, had been very kind to the boy, explaining what procedures they had planned to do and adding that Leif could always speak up if he felt uncomfortable about it. Tony Stark, however, was as snarky as ever and had remarked snidely that he hoped Leif would make Bruce lose his temper and thus solve all of their problems.

In order to spite Tony as well as not wanting to disappoint the eager Bruce, Leif had accepted the proposal sullenly. He soon found himself in a room with walls made of the same material as the container that was used to hold him in the past with metal bands on each of his hands that would be used to detect his heart beat as well as the energy levels in his body. Bruce Banner, who was safely outside the room to prevent any unwanted 'accidents', had set Leif on a series of small tasks which the boy found rather easy to accomplish. The scientist had claimed that the melting of the iron slab would be the boy's final task for the day and they would continue with the experiment tomorrow.

"So how's the data looking?" Leif smirked as he exited the room and strode over to Bruce, who was observing some of graphs and charts on the high tech screens surrounding him in the air. "Must be really impressive huh? After all, it all came from me."

Bruce gave an amused grin at the boy's arrogant remark and returned his attention to the chart displaying the energy levels of Leif's body when he did the experiment.

"It seems that the energy level of your body fluctuates whenever you manipulate the energy flow into or out of an object. That's really interesting. We will have to conduct further tests to find out more though." The scientist muttered while Leif simply gave a bored shrug. After all, the boy didn't really care about the scientific reasons behind his powers. All he needed to know is how to control them, and how to use them to prank others for his own entertainment.

"So how does it feel like to be conducting this experiment with me?" Leif gave a smirk, hoping to change the topic away from the dissection of his body's data, which Bruce was completely engrossed in right now.

"Oh, I don't know," Bruce said with a weak smile. "Feels nice somehow I guess, to be the one conducting the test for once, rather than being the test subject. Sorry if I offended you." The scientist added hastily when Leif raised his eyebrows questioningly at his words. Leif then took a deeper observation of the weary, tired looking man before him. Premature greying hair, lines across his face; all these are signs of stress, the boy thought as he gazed at Bruce.

"Well they have told me about how you transform into a scary enormous green monster when you are angry," Leif gave a grin as he saw Bruce smiling wryly at the mention of the Hulk. "I haven't met him yet, perhaps you could let us get acquainted someday?" Bruce gave an amused chuckle at Leif's boldness.

"I would have thought that you wouldn't be eager to meet the… other guy, considering how he had flung your father about violently in their earlier encounter." Bruce commented dryly but had a surprise when he saw a sudden gleam in Leif's eyes that seemed like glee.

"Really now? That would have been fun to watch, I am sorry I missed it." Leif gave an evil snigger as he thought of his proud father being swung about like a rag. After all, he hasn't quite forgiven Loki yet. "The green fellow sounds like a swell guy! Now I want to meet him even more." Bruce felt highly disturbed by Leif's reply.

 _This boy's brain is a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy on him, just like Loki._  Bruce thought in bemusement to himself as he watched Leif snigger for a while more before stopping.

"Well, he is not a… 'swell guy', not as you might have thought. He is a monster, an uncontrollable beast inside of me. And I am… not really eager about letting you meet him," Bruce muttered quietly while Leif's face grew serious as he stared at the downcast man. Somehow he felt a twinge of pity for Bruce.

"A monster huh? Well, I have one inside of me as well," Leif replied, much to Bruce's astonishment. "Frost Giant," Leif explained casually after he caught the scientist's confused look. "That's what I really am. I transform when I touch something extremely cold, like the Casket of the Ancient Winters." Leif felt another shiver down his spine as he remembered his own reflection during his transformation.

_That horrible blue skin and disgusting red eyes._

"Well its different, at least you can control your actions when you transform. I can't. When that thing takes over I can't do anything; everything is like a distant memory. It's like an entirely different person, monster, causing trouble and harming others while I am just helplessly there watching. And yet when I become myself again, I know how all of this is my fault, my doing." Bruce Banner confessed, rubbing his temple as he always did when he was stressed.

"Well, I can't really control my transforming into a Frost Giant either," Leif replied matter-of-factly. "And I don't like that part of me as much as you dislike the Hulk." Leif gave another casual shrug as he stared into Bruce Banner's eyes. "However, I don't think the uncontrollable part of a person determines who he is. In fact, it is the opposite. The conscious decisions you make determines who you are. You made your choice to be a devoted scientist and a good man while I choose to be, well, a trouble maker. See, that's what we truly are." Leif gave another smirk while Bruce stared at him in amazement.

 _This kid thinks in a rather unique way…_ Bruce thought to himself and gave a weak smile.

"See you tomorrow Doc, I am going to get some rest," Leif grinned brightly and turned, returning back to his room. Bruce gazed at the back of the boy and smiled to himself. He had been worried about working with this kid, unsure of what would happen if Leif was as erratic as the others had claimed. However, it looks like his worries were for naught; Leif had been a pleasure to work with, at least so far…

XXX

Leif was once again in the green and silvery mist. Once he had reached his room, the boy had taken a warm shower and went to bed, exhausted by his long day. He had been extremely surprised to find himself appearing in this green and silvery land though; Leif didn't think that Loki would be so eager to see him after their last encounter.

It was not long before Loki appeared in front of him again, wearing his usual smirk and his hands folded across his chest.

"I hope your little tantrum is over, Son? After all, I had given you six days to calm down and think things through. I think that's plenty of time." Loki grinned slyly while Leif flashed him an annoyed scowl.

"And I thought I had told you to 'get lost' last time. Which part of the phrase do you not understand?" Leif snapped back in irritation and Loki simply gave him an amused smile.

"Come on now, Leif, don't be so harsh. We are father and son, after all," Loki said soothingly, but Leif snorted cynically at his words.

"Father and son? You lied to me and used me to steal the Casket!" Leif began to exclaim angrily but Loki stopped him.

"You offered to help me yourself, Leif. Stealing the Casket was done by your own free will; you can hardly blame me for that." Loki pointed out flatly. "And I admit, I may have lied to you about putting the Casket back. However, at the time and circumstances, I had no other choice. Odin and Thor were coming after us soon and you had refused to listen. I did what I had to and I apologise for that." Loki finished softly and gazed at the still sullen boy. Then, the god flashed another grin.

"You are not so petty, are you?" The God of Mischief teased while his son rolled his eyes scornfully.

"Well, what are you going to do with the Casket then, now that it's in your possession?" Leif asked Loki grudgingly and his father merely gave an evil smirk.

"Oh, I have plans for the Casket, but let's not talk about this matter now," Loki smiled as Leif seemed about to furiously argue with the god again. "I came to reconcile with you, my son, not to start another argument. Let's stop talking about me, let's change the topic to you. How are you recently?"

It took a while for Loki to coax and persuade Leif but in the end, the boy decided to forgive his father and was soon happily telling him about his experiences in S.H.I.E.L.D. The god had listened attentively to his son's tales and sniggered appreciatively as the boy recounted how he had created chaos in the building.

 _It serves them right,_ Loki thought gleefully to himself. _Did those buffoons really think that they could imprison and control MY son?_

And so, for the next few nights to come, Loki appeared every day to listen to Leif's encounters. It was just like that time before the year Thor was banished; Leif chatting away about his day while Loki remained quiet and listened, occasionally smirking or complimenting his son for the pranks he had played on the agents and Thor. However, the god had grimaced when his son mentioned Bruce Banner and how he was cooperating with the scientist in an experiment. Leif had, of course, seen his father's discomfort and had flashed Loki a smirk to equal the god's own.

"I heard that the Hulk had thrown you around like a toy in the past," Leif had grinned evilly while Loki glared at him, enraged that his son was bringing up such an insulting memory. "Would have been fun to watch. I wish I had been there." Leif gave a snigger which Loki found extremely annoying.

"I don't see how it is so funny." The God of Mischief had snapped back and refused to elaborate on the topic as Leif continued flashing him an irritating grin.

Besides visiting Leif in his dreams, Loki had also been observing the boy's daily actions, although Leif didn't know it. He had smirked and sniggered in delight as he watched how his son had created trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D and his brother Thor. After all, Loki is extremely fond of mischief himself. However, there was something that had made him uncomfortable. On some occasions, the god had felt that his son was getting a little too friendly with certain members of the Avengers for his tastes.

For instance, those sparring matches Leif had with that soldier-out-of-time, the cheerful chats he had with that hulk-in-a-man were unnecessary, in Loki's eyes. Leif seemed to have even grown fond of Thor, that simple minded fool, for some reason Loki could not comprehend. However, the God of Lies decided not to talk to his son about this matter yet. No, an argument now would not be beneficial for the next step of his scheme. So Loki kept quiet and firmly decided that he would have to educate Leif about his choice of friends in the future.

One night, exactly 20 days after Leif had entered S.H.I.E.L.D, the boy had started off with his usual cheerful banter of how he had tricked a bemused Phil Coulson with one of his illusions, leading the man to blabber on about the need for safety precautions when using magic before unhappily realising that Leif had been absent from his debrief for the entire ten minutes. Loki had listened with his usual smirk plastered on his face and had then slyly brought the topic over to Leif's magic skills.

It appeared that Leif had made tremendous improvement with his illusion casting skills, which he had showed his father proudly by creating several strong images of himself before dismissing them with a snap of his fingers 5 minutes later. Loki was impressed and pleased, although he had tried his best not to show it.

 _It won't do for the boy to get too arrogant now, would it?_ Loki had mused to himself, blatantly ignoring the fact that his own arrogance was overwhelming.

"Hmm… not bad." Loki had smirked. "Yes, not bad at all. I can see that your illusion casting skills have improved greatly from your previous weak attempts." Loki gave a wicked snigger as Leif scowled at him. "However, what about your energy projection skills? Have you made any improvements lately?"

Leif was surprised by Loki's question. He had never considered practising his control of energy more as the boy had been contented with his current ability to use it. However, Loki had obviously thought otherwise.

"Now then, you can't possibly be satisfied with just blasting people away with your energy projections or using your ability to control energy for that… man's experiments, can you?" Loki said with amusement. "You should explore more into your own powers. For example, have you ever considered creating a force field of sorts or gathering energy between your palms to see what reactions it would trigger?" Loki smiled wryly as Leif shook his head.

"Well, try it. Gather as much energy as you can between your palms and see what would happen. Not now though!" Loki added hurriedly as Leif's eyes gleamed with curiosity and the boy seemed eager to start immediately.

"Now isn't the right time," Loki smirked.  _Or place._ "Try it out while you are experimenting with that… man," Loki gave another grimace. He still couldn't get over his embarrassment of how the Hulk had beaten him so easily and had hated even the mention of Bruce's name. "And don't stop out of fear if something unusual happens, Leif. It always does, especially when you are experimenting with magic. Just continue to gather energy and see what power it will  _unleash._ " Loki's eyes flashed wickedly as he mentioned the last word but Leif was too distracted by his father's suggestion to notice it.

"I have to go now Leif," Loki gave a chuckle as he gazed at his son. "Remember to probe into your skills by doing what I have told you to do. After all, a little experiment won't do any harm." The God of Mischief flashed one final grin which Leif happily returned before vanishing.

_Yes, it certainly won't do any harm at all._

XXX

Bruce Banner was extremely surprised to see Leif in an unusually cheery mood that day. The boy had come into their usual experimental site beaming excitedly and had announced to the scientist that he wanted to try out something 'new'. Despite Bruce's curious questions about what the 'new' thing was, Leif had most secretively refused to answer and merely replied that it would be an interesting insight to their experiment.

Therefore, an utterly confused Bruce had agreed to let Leif try out whatever he had wanted to try, on the condition that the boy would stop immediately if the scientist deemed what he was doing to be dangerous. After agreeing, Leif had stepped once more into the protective room and started to proceed with what Loki had suggested.

_Easy now._

Leif raised both his hands before his chest and started to focus on gathering energy from the surrounding air into the space between his palms. He became excited when he saw that his actions had resulted in some sort of swirling vortex in the air which grew bigger and bigger as the time passed. However, as the amount of energy gathered increased, Leif found himself getting a little perturbed by the increasing rate of growth of the energy vortex. It seemed as though the vortex he had created was now starting to absorb energy by its own and had started to spiral out of control. Leif felt a cold chill run down his body as his hair started to stand.

_Come on, relax! Father had said that unusual things would happen while experimenting, right? Right?_

Bruce Banner watched the happenings inside of the room with horror.  _Oh my god!_ He turned abruptly to one of the screens and saw with shock that the energy levels inside the room were shooting up at an immense pace, becoming dangerously high.  _This is bad._

"Leif! Leif, can you hear me? You have to stop now! This is dangerous!" Bruce shouted anxiously into his earpiece, desperately hoping that the boy could hear him over the noise that was bound to be in that enclosed room.

"I can't! This thing is out of control!" Leif's frantic voice sounded over the scientist's earpiece, along with flickering noises of static that could only be coming from the rapidly growing vortex. The usually calm Bruce found himself panicking as well to this piece of unpleasant news.

"Well, hurry up and get out of there! We don't know what-" The scientist's terrified shouts were interrupted by a massive explosion as the transparent walls of the room shattered. Both Leif and Bruce were blasted backwards by the sheer force of the energy vortex erupting and Leif's head slammed violently against the wall, knocking the boy into a daze.

As Leif's eyes started to blur and water at the pain, he saw a swirling black vortex in the centre of the room, which seemed to be sucking bits and pieces of the ruined building into it. The boy felt himself being drawn closer and closer to the hole as well, unable to move or struggle due to the pain shooting throughout his body. Despite his daze, Leif could heard a monstrous roar and from the corner of his eye, saw a huge green blur which shot out of the room and out of his sight.

 _Perhaps I should have been more attentive to Phil's debriefs about using magic._ Leif thought bemusedly to himself as the world in front of him turned pitch-black.


	13. Betrayal

Leif opened his eyes gingerly and found himself staring into a pearly white space.

_Am I dead?_

“So you have finally woken up into the world of the living. Congratulations kid! Too bad for us though.” An extremely irritating voice that Leif knew too well snapped the boy back to his senses.

_Oh my god, not him again!_

Leif stiffly turned his head towards the direction where the voice had come from and sure enough, Tony Stark was sitting there in the hospital ward Leif was in, eating some grapes out of a fruit basket that was obviously meant for the boy.

“Come on Tony. Give the boy a break! He has just woken up.” A stern female voice chided and Leif saw a pretty strawberry blonde walking into the room, staring at the billionaire with reproachful eyes. Tony rolled his eyes while the lady walked over to Leif’s bedside and gave him a kind smile.

“Hello Leif, my name is Pepper Potts,” The lady said warmly and Leif flashed a weak smile in return. “I am Tony’s um… secretary.” She added dryly while the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist choked on a grape after hearing her words.

“I don’t think-” Tony started indignantly but was hushed by Pepper, who shot another stern glance in his direction, much to Leif’s amusement.

_Wow. This woman has power._

Pepper turned back to Leif and gave another rueful smile.

“We are so glad you have come to ( _Tony gave a nasty snort which Pepper ignored_ ), you had been unconscious for 2 days and your uncle had been worried sick.” Pepper finished and it was then that Leif suddenly realised that Thor had been sitting next to his bedside all this time, his eyes red and bloodshot. Leif felt a strong pang of guilt.

“Sorry Uncle.” Leif muttered while Thor sniffed and gave him a comforting smile. Leif tried to remember all that had happened before he was knocked unconscious. What was that swirling black vortex he had created? What had been that huge green blur that he saw before he blacked out? He closed his eyes as a sudden pain shot through the back of his head. Thor stood up anxiously at once at the sight of his nephew’s discomfort.

“Are you alright, Leif?” The god asked in a concerned voice and Leif nodded slowly.

“Of course the boy is not alright!” Tony piped up annoyingly. “The kid bumped his head, what do you expect? He is lucky that the Captain rushed in and pulled him away from that swirly thingy he created or who knows what may have happened.” Leif opened his eyes with shock at the billionaire’s words and sat up with a jolt while Thor and Pepper hurriedly tried to calm him down.

“The Captain?” Leif asked hoarsely and he caught sight of Steve Rogers, who was apparently sitting in the room the entire time. Steve gave him an assuring smile and Leif felt himself relaxing.

“Guess I owe you another favour huh?” He muttered quietly as Steve grinned at him.

“Think nothing of it, kid.” The Captain replied good-naturedly. However, Leif found himself thinking a lot.

“Bruce!” Leif’s body tensed up once more at the thought of the scientist. He had been there when the blast of energy erupted. “Is he alright?”

“Yeah he is fine. Lost control when he got blasted back though, and transformed into the Hulk. Tore down half of the building but Clint managed to tranquilise him before he rushed out into the streets. All is well, everyone in the building managed to evacuate and no one got hurt; well, except maybe for Phil who tripped on the way out and landed on his nose. But who cares anyway?” Tony smirked nastily. “Bruce is in another hospital ward now, and he is making a much speedier recovery than you, thank goodness.” Tony finished dryly and Leif felt his heart sinking. God, what had he done? The boy made his mind up to apologise to the scientist once he could see him.

“And the S.H.I.E.L.D building?” Leif asked although he dreaded the answer. Steve, Thor and Pepper gave him rueful smiles, keeping quiet but Tony spoke up as usual.

“What S.H.I.E.L.D building? There is no S.H.I.E.L.D building left! You and the Hulk had made sure of that.” The billionaire said scornfully. “Fury will be lucky if he could even find all the pieces of his precious building, your vortex sucked up the other half that the Hulk did not manage to smash.”

“Tony,” Pepper muttered warningly once more and the man stopped, still glaring at Leif. Leif felt his entire body weakening after hearing what Tony had said. So he had actually destroyed the entire building single-handedly? Looks like Fury and Tony were right about him after all; he is extremely dangerous.

“By the way, what was that thing you created back there, Leif?” Steve Rogers asked curiously. “I saw it when I entered the level to pull you out. It kept growing bigger and bigger, sucking the debris around into it. I felt an extremely strong force trying to pull us both in as well.” Leif shook his head slowly to mean that he had no idea. After all, he really didn’t.

“Banner caught a glimpse of it too, before he turned into the Hulk,” Tony chimed in. “I had a chat with him about it when he woke up and we theorise that the boy’s manipulation and gathering of energy into one confined area in space may have caused an involuntary formation of a gravitational force field so strong that it created a Schwarzschild radius which-” The genius rattled on until he was interrupted by Steve.

“Tony, speak English,” Steve said with irritation and an affronted Tony glared at him. Pepper gave a soft inaudible giggle that was only heard by Leif and the boy grinned as well, despite of his troubles.

“Black hole.” Tony said simply with his usual expression that suggested he was talking to a bunch of retards. “We suspect that the boy may have created a black hole, or at least, something that is similar to one. It can be certain that a real black hole wouldn’t close itself after a period of time like that thing the boy had created. We are not sure how it could have happened but we certainly are not eager to find out.” The billionaire snapped and gave Leif a nasty look which made the boy feel worse.

“I am sorry,” Leif muttered quietly and Tony gave another scornful laugh.

“Of course you should be! You had done an extremely stupid thing. We were fortunate that your powers were weak and that the vortex you created only lasted for 3 minutes or the entire New York City may be swallowed up whole!” Tony said irritatedly and Pepper glared at her boss once more.

“Yes, I was stupid.” Leif murmured quietly once more and the entire room fell silent. Even the usually sarcastic Tony seemed shocked by how Leif had berated himself.

“That’s enough!” Pepper said firmly and she strode over to the billionaire. “Let’s go Tony, let the boy have some rest. He is tired and injured and you are not helping.”

“Hey… okay, I get it. We are leaving!” Tony protested as Pepper forcibly dragged him out of the room. “Can I get another grape before we go?”

Steve Rogers walked over to Leif and patted the boy comfortingly on the shoulder.

“Don’t think too much about this, kid. It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault.” The Captain gave Leif another assuring smile and turned to Thor. “Come on buddy, let’s leave and let the boy have some peace and quiet alone. He needs to rest.” Thor gave a grunt of consent and stood up to walk out with his friend. Before leaving, he turned and took one final glimpse of Leif, who was still sitting there with a downcast expression.

After Steve Rogers and his Uncle had left, Leif started to think back once more about what had happened.

 _It is my fault._ The boy thought ruefully to himself but then his body flared up with anger. _And it had been no accident._

XXX

Leif waited quietly in the green and silvery mist. It wasn’t long before his father appeared before him once more, with his usual smirk plastered over his face.

“I hope you are recovering quickly, Son? You seem to be rather knocked up by that blast.” Loki gave a tiny snigger while Leif simply stood there wordlessly, giving his father a cold stare.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Leif finally spoke up quietly while Loki seemed taken aback by what he had said. “You told me to do that knowing full well what it would result in, didn’t you?” Loki smiled uncomfortably at his son’s questions.

“I had guessed,” The God of Mischief replied honestly after a minute of awkward silence and Leif felt an enormous rage building inside of him.

“I have had enough,” Leif snapped heatedly. “I am tired of being a fucking pawn in your game of chess. You claim to love me as your son but you have used me over and over again! First to steal the Casket and now, to destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D building. You are as bad as you claim Odin to be,” Leif paused for a moment and glared at his father, who seemed to be equally as incensed by his son’s words. “No, you are far worse!”

“Do not speak about Odin to me!” Loki snarled and his eyes flashed angrily at the very mention of his father’s name. “I refuse to be compared with him!”

“Oh? Really? Well, I agree, because you are nothing compared to him.” Leif retorted furiously and Loki seemed as though he was about to hit the boy. “At least he had never placed the life of his son on the line, unlike you! I could have died in the blast!” Leif exclaimed with anger and his father’s eyes softened.

“Leif,” Loki said quietly, trying to keep his voice calm. “You would not have died. The pendant would have protected your life. I knew. I had calculated everything in-”

“Oh, always so calculating, aren’t you?” Leif interrupted scornfully. “You had calculated every single move carefully in your earlier plans as well, but you didn’t manage to calculate being pounded by the Hulk, did you?” Loki’s eyes flashed dangerously once more at Leif’s words but the boy continued his rant, ignoring his father’s anger. “What would have happened if you made a miscalculation again this time? What would have happened if I had been dragged into the black hole? Please tell me about how Steve Rogers rescuing me is all part of your meticulous planning!” Leif gave a snort of disgust while Loki stared at him quietly.

“Leif-” The God of Mischief began once more but this time, Leif was no longer in the mood to listen to his father’s coaxing.

“You say that I am your son and you say that you loved me, but I can’t help but feel the other way.” Leif said coldly as he glared at Loki. “I am tired of being tricked, tired of being used. I am tired of seeing your face!” Loki stared sadly at his son’s enraged expression.

“I do not want to see you ever again!” Leif continued furiously. “You are no father of mine!” The boy spat out viciously and the god kept quiet.

“You need time to calm down,” Loki said finally. “And I will give you that time. I am sorry for hurting you, Leif, but I did what was necessary for my plans (Leif gave another cynical snort). I had never meant to place you in danger. One day, you will realise that what I have done is for the good of us both and you will be thankful to me for it. I will wait for that day.” After saying this, Loki vanished once more while Leif seemed even more infuriated by his father’s words. The boy stood alone quietly in the shroud of green and silvery fog.

 _I hate him._ Leif thought spitefully to himself as he glared into the empty space where Loki had been. _I hate him._ The boy willed himself to feel indifferent, to tell himself that Loki being gone for good has no impact on him. However, the childlike voice at the back of his head was crying desperately again.

 _Shut up!_ Leif thought hatefully to the voice but it was no use.

 _How could he? How could he do this to me?_ Leif crouched down on the ground and buried his face in his knees as uncontrollable tears of sorrow ran down his face.

XXX

“No.” Tony replied tartly. “That is an extremely ridiculous proposal. I refuse.”

Nick Fury, who was sitting opposite of Tony on the couch in the billionaire’s office, stared at him with exasperation.

“Tony, please. We need your help. We can’t-” The director began desperately but an irritated Stark soon cut him off.

“Acting as a consultant for the Avengers’ initiative and helping to save the world is one thing, Director. However, renting my house out to take in all five of the other Avengers and that revolting kid is another.” Tony said firmly. “I will not allow it. End of discussion. You may see yourself out now.”

“Tony,” Pepper, who was sitting next to the billionaire and listening to Nick’s request as well, chimed in soothingly. “I am sure Director Fury wouldn’t ask this of you if he had another choice. Let’s listen to what he has to say before coming to a conclusion, okay?” Tony gave an annoyed grunt and Pepper turned brightly to Nick, who gave her an appreciative smile. “You were saying, Director?”

“Thank you Miss Potts,” Fury continued. “As I was saying, the S.H.I.E.L.D building is destroyed and we have no other place suitable to relocate the Avengers. We need your help in allowing them to stay in your house-”

“And wreck it?” Tony demanded cynically, interrupting the Director mid-explanation. “I don’t see how you would have no other place to relocate the others, Director. I am sure that the headquarters in New York isn’t the only building that S.H.I.E.L.D owns. You can always move them to another city!” The genius retorted, annoyed by Fury’s request.

“That is the point Tony! With Loki out there scheming to endanger the planet, we can’t have the Avengers scattered all over America! We need a place where all of you can gather immediately once an emergency arises. Unlike the other agents, all of the Avengers, except for you, do not have their own houses in New York!” Nick said anxiously. “Natasha and Clint may be agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but they are assassins and they stay in the headquarters. And you should know by now that Steve, Bruce and Thor are homeless as well! We can’t afford sending the members of the Avengers elsewhere and increasing the time needed for you guys to assemble when Loki appears.”

“He has a point Tony,” Pepper coaxed the disgruntled genius beside her.

“Fine, maybe there is a valid reason for the Avengers, but what about that kid!” Tony snapped angrily. “I don’t see a need for him to be present when Loki appears! In fact, it would be better for all of us if he is absent, you know, just chuck him in an enclosed room somewhere!” The billionaire pointed out flatly.

“Thor is his uncle, Tony.” Director Fury said wearily. “He will go wherever the kid goes. And I assure you that this arrangement is only temporary. We only need a month, perhaps two at the most to find another suitable place to set up as headquarters and move the Avengers there.”

“No.” Tony replied stubbornly. “I don’t like it. I refuse.”

“Tony, have a heart.” Pepper cooed persuasively while the billionaire turned to stare at her incredulously.

“That boy is dangerous! He just proved that fact by destroying the entire S.H.I.E.L.D building with all of its 60 floors! I will not have him in my house and blasting it up!” Tony snapped indignantly.

“He is just a child and the blast was an accident,” Pepper replied persuasively.

“Pepper, it is your home as well as mine!” Tony argued but Pepper gave him a rueful stare.

“Tony,” The strawberry blonde repeated and the billionaire gave an unhappy sigh. He knew that look too well; Pepper’s voice may be pleading and her lips may be in a coaxing smile, but her eyes were shining with a fiery determination. Tony knew that she was going to get her way and Pepper knew that as well. She smiled and turned to Nick Fury, who was watching the scene with interest.

“Tony agrees, Director,” Pepper answered brightly and Fury’s face lit up.

“Thank you Tony,” The director stood up promptly before the billionaire could object. “And Miss Potts,” he added with a smile. “I will go make the necessary arrangements. You can expect them in by tomorrow evening.”

“Oh we will be prepared, Director.” Pepper replied politely and stood up as well to walk Fury out of the building. Tony Stark was left alone in his office, utterly depressed and slumped down on his couch.

 _How could Pepper betray me like this?_ The bemused man thought to himself. _She is supposed to be on my side…_

XXX

The next evening was an extremely unpleasant one for Tony Stark. After all five of the other Avengers as well as that kid had arrived and Pepper had enthusiastically welcomed them into _his_ house, the eight of them sat down at _his_ long dining table for an extremely awkward and silent meal. The only noises that were heard came from Thor while he munched his food and proclaimed how delicious a particular dish is and Pepper, who occasionally tried, but failed to start a conversation.

Tony had kept his eyes trained on Leif throughout the entire meal as the billionaire simply did not trust the boy. However, Leif had shown no signs of his usual mischief as he drank his soup and ate his meal quietly with the most perfect manners, which had irritated Tony even more. After the meal, Tony had shown the Avengers one by one to their rooms, which they will be staying in for the coming month.

The billionaire first led Natasha and Clint to two guestrooms that were strategically located side by side. He had a feeling that both Fury and Natasha would flip if he gave the two agents one large guestroom to share between themselves and had thus, most tactfully allocated them rooms next to each other, in case any emergencies suddenly pop up, _er hum._ Next he brought Bruce to his room, chatting with the scientist along the way and happy that he could finally speak to someone of a similar intellectual level to him. In fact, the erratic genius was already looking forward to luring Bruce to Stark Tower and introducing him to all the fancy new ‘toys’ that he had recently acquired.

Tony then showed Thor his room, and the satisfied god had nodded in approval at the living quarters allocated to him. He had also added that even though Tony’s guestroom was _adequate_ , the god’s own chambers in Asgard had been far superior. Utterly annoyed, Tony had left the god to ramble on about Asgard while he brought Steve to the guestroom meant for the super soldier. The Captain, as usual, had thanked Tony politely before fishing out a rolled up ten dollar bill and handing it to the billionaire before closing the door. The pissed off billionaire had scrunched the note up and stuffed it in his pocket, making a mental note to himself to burn it later.

All of this events, however, were _nothing_ compared to the torture Tony received when he finally showed Leif his room. The billionaire had brought the boy to one of the guestrooms near Thor’s and had immediately turned to leave when the boy piped up most irritatingly that he was not satisfied. Tony was enraged. Bewildered. What was there to be unsatisfied about? This was, after all, a guest room in Tony Stark’s own house! Leif then pointed out dryly that the room’s wall colour, which was in a majestic scarlet that Tony liked, was _ugly_ and that he wanted the billionaire to revamp the room and paint it a nice soothing green, which the boy preferred. Tony felt like strangling him on the spot. The very nerve of the kid!

A furious argument then ensued for thirty minutes in which Tony repeatedly established the fact that this was _his_ house, _his_ room and that he will not be changing anything about it for the boy. It ended when Leif lost his temper, as if he was entitled to, and fiercely chased the indignant billionaire out of the room in _his_ own house, slamming the door in Tony’s face. The fuming man had then walked down the halls, counting from one to ten under his breath and trying desperately to keep calm.

 _I swear that boy did that on purpose to aggravate me._ Tony thought furiously to himself as he trudged back to his own room for a well-deserved rest. It had been only 4 hours and the boy had already gotten onto his nerves. Tony didn’t see how he could possibly last a week, not to say a month with Leif in his house.

 _I have a feeling I am going to see Fury very soon._ The billionaire thought grimly. _And Fury isn’t going to like it._


	14. Dealing With Mischief

Tony was in an extremely grouchy mood this morning.

The evening before, all five of the Avengers and brat had moved into his house under Fury's stupid proposal. The billionaire had tossed and turned in his bed the entire night, unable to catch a single wink of sleep out of fear that his house will explode at any time. He had finally given up and got out of bed early in the morning, thinking that he could go to the kitchen and have a nice quiet breakfast when he found out that he had thought wrong. Really wrong.

Even at 7 a.m. in the morning, Thor, Bruce, Natasha and Clint were wide awake and sitting at the dining table while Pepper (who had volunteered to help out in the house as part of her deal with Tony) bustled about preparing breakfast for the Avengers. Even that horrible, irritating, annoying kid was there, sitting at the table opposite of Thor and eating a bowl of Cheerios, staring vacantly into space while Thor started on a banter about one of his adventures back in Asgard. Bruce, who was sitting next to Thor, was avidly reading the newspaper, miraculously unaffected by the god's loud ramble. Clint and Natasha were a few seats away from the trio, sitting together and casually chatting among themselves. Tony went over and made himself a mug of coffee, observing bemusedly that all of the others seemed to have been much better rested than he is.

"Where's the Captain?" Tony asked curiously all of a sudden after realising that the super soldier was strangely not with them. "I would have thought that the old man would be the one who would be up and spiffy the earliest."

"He went for his morning run," Bruce replied simply, not even looking up from his paper. Tony rolled his eyes, wondering why he had even bothered asking. It seemed so obvious after all. Pepper walked over and placed plates of steaming bacon and eggs on the table.

"Ah! Thank you, Miss Potts!" Thor exclaimed dramatically while Bruce, Natasha and Clint grinned at the god's enthusiasm and politely thanked Pepper as well.

"There is no need for the formalities, Thor. Just call me Pepper." The strawberry blonde smiled warmly as she handed out mugs of hot coffee. Thor accepted his gratefully and took a huge gulp, sputtering at first due to burning his tongue with the piping hot [liquid](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/14/Son-of-Loki), which had caused Leif to snigger. Then, the god took another cautious sip and realised that the drink tasted really good. He then drained his mug and gave a satisfied grin.

"This drink, I like it!" Thor exclaimed happily. "Another!" The god had lifted the mug in the air and seemed about to hurl it onto the ground when Pepper rushed forward hurriedly.

"No Thor! NO!" Pepper scolded and snatched the mug away protectively from the confused god. "I have skyped and met Jane a few times in the past and she had told me about your antics. There will be no smashing in this house!" Thor looked even more bewildered by her words while Leif gave a hearty giggle.

"Yea big guy, I don't really appreciate having to buy new mugs every day because of you smashing mine every time you ask for a drink." Tony piped up sarcastically. "And besides, your smashing actions might scare someone out of their skin, literally, and we all don't want that, do we? It might cause even more smashing." Bruce looked up and gave Tony a wry smile before returning to his paper.

"How am I supposed to ask for another drink then?" Thor asked in his befuddlement. An evil gleam flashed in Leif's eyes when he heard his uncle's question.

"You ask nicely, Uncle." Leif said innocently. "In Midgard you ask for another drink by looking at the person serving you in the eye and saying, 'May I have another drink, Sweetheart?"". Tony gaped in shock at Leif's sentence but before he or anyone else could stop Thor, the god had obediently followed his nephew's instructions.

"May I have another drink, Sweetheart?" Thor asked Pepper, his electric blue eyes staring dolefully into the strawberry blonde's. Pepper's face promptly blushed a bright red and she turned away immediately, walking off to the kitchen counter to make another mug of coffee. Bruce Banner seemed extremely amused and was staring at Thor incredulously, unable to believe that the god had actually been so… dumb. Clint and Natasha broke into a series of giggles at the god's words while Leif had been unable to keep a straight face any longer and was now sniggering uncontrollably. Tony, on the other hand, had turned a horrible shade of purple.

"Thor," The billionaire said to the confounded god, trying his best to sound calm but only managing to achieve sounding like he was constipated. "If you ever call anyone in this house, especially Pepper, ‘Sweetheart’ again, I will personally eject you from my home. It is just, "May I have another drink?" No Sweetheart, Thor, NO! Is that clear?" Thor nodded with a confused expression on his face while Pepper handed him another mug of coffee, decidedly not looking at the god in the face. Tony then turned furiously to Leif, who was now wearing a smirk on his face.

"And you!" The billionaire snarled menacingly at the grinning boy. "I don't know what Fury and the others at S.H.I.E.L.D had to put up with while you were with them but I can tell you that I will not tolerate any of your nonsense. While you are in my house, you live by my rules!" Tony declared angrily, although he was most unpleasantly reminded at the back of his head that he was now sounding like one of those old fuddy duddies he himself disliked so much. Leif simply gave another smirk and returned his attention back to his bowl of cereal.

"What were you saying about how everything would turn out fine?" Tony muttered quietly to Pepper, who had walked back to the billionaire's side.

"Oh shut up!" The strawberry blonde snapped back in irritation and Tony couldn't help but give a tiny grin at his lover's annoyance.

XXX

Before Tony and Pepper left for work that day, the billionaire had once again pointed his finger menacingly at Leif and threatened to skin the boy alive if he did not behave. However, Tony need not have worried about Leif blowing up his house while he was away. No. Leif was too busy having fun by showing an ignorant Thor around and introducing the electronic gadgets in the house to the confounded god.

The boy had started off by introducing the hair dryer and the electric iron to his uncle, explaining to the god that these were weapons created by humans that could harness the power of the wind and the heat. Leif had further stated, much to Thor's indignation, that the power of these two gadgets was equivalent to that of the Mjolnir. The Norse god had furiously refused to believe that anything would be able to match his beloved hammer and had challenged his nephew to a battle with one of these so called weapons.

"Oh no Uncle, I believe Tony Stark won't be happy if we started a fight in his house." Leif replied slyly. "Besides, these two weapons are extremely powerful. I wouldn't want to cause any damage to your Mjolnir." The boy then smirked at the sight of Thor's affronted expression.

Leif then brought the sulking Thor into Tony's gigantic living room and introduced the billionaire's favourite 55 inch, 3D television set as a magical mirror which could show events occurring in other worlds to the god. He allowed his uncle to stare at the vibrant graphics on the television screen with amazement for a few minutes before dragging the god away from the couch. The Hi-Fi set later became the Cage of the Banshees after Leif accidently tuned in to a FM channel which was playing a song from a Spanish Opera after turning it on. It took all of Leif's efforts and persuasive skills to stop the provoked Thor from destroying the 'unholy device' with the Mjolnir, which was an amazing accomplishment considering how the boy was laughing throughout the incident. Finally, after much convincing, the Norse god left the Hi-Fi set alone reluctantly, shooting it one final suspicious glance before following his nephew to explore the other areas of the Stark Mansion.

However, what delighted Leif the most was when he had managed to find an old electric fan hidden away in one of the secluded attics in the enormous house. Imagine that! An old outdated electronic device in Tony Stark's own house! The boy had excitedly plugged in the fan and switched it on without much further ado.

"This," Leif explained to his stunned uncle, "is an ancient device created by the humans in the past to test their warriors' courage and endurance. The warriors would stick a finger through the metal grills while the blades are turning. The longer the warrior is able to keep his finger inside, the greater his worth." Leif finished with an evil smirk. The oblivious Thor had laughed, saying that this was an easy test and had stupidly attempted it, sticking his thick finger through the grill. He then withdrew his finger immediately out of shock at how much pain the blades had caused when they slammed against it, only managing to keep it inside for at most two seconds.

The disappointed god then followed Leif, who had burst out in an uncontrollable laughter, back to the living room, thinking that his nephew was laughing at his incompetence. The God of Thunder sat heavily on the couch with a downcast expression while Leif continued to snicker happily. It took an amused Clint Barton, who simply could not stand Thor's miserable expression any longer, to tell the god that it was a miracle his finger had not been sliced off before he realised that he had been tricked. The enraged Thor had then gotten so incensed by this knowledge that he refused to talk to Leif for three whole hours, which was an incredible feat considering how fond he was of his nephew.

In the coming four days, Leif had once again managed to create chaos and cause Tony to almost tear out his hair in frustration at the boy's antics. His tricks mostly involved his unknowing Uncle and some unfortunate electronic device of Tony's with the occasional involvement of Steve Rogers, who was equally as inapt in the modern world. Leif had also realised that Clint Barton got a little fidgety whenever the boy smirked or grinned twistedly at him, most probably due to the boy's striking resemblance to Loki and the master archer's unpleasant memories of the trickster. Thus, Leif took every opportunity he could to leer at the man, causing Clint a significant amount of discomfort.

Leif soon realised, however, that it was unwise to provoke Natasha Romanoff. He had tried once to annoy the assassin by slyly probing into her relationship with Clint and received a fiery glare along with a spooky threat about getting his tongue torn out. Therefore, Leif had decided that it would be better to leave the Black Widow alone. He had also been fairly nice to Bruce Banner, probably out of guilt that he had caused the man to transform into the Hulk in the past or perhaps not being eager to unleash the Hulk once more. Leif often found himself sitting down quietly next to the scientist when he was not busy with any mischief and chatting with the man, grateful to have someone better acquainted with the modern world to talk to rather than his bumbling uncle and the naïve Steve.

With all the excitement occurring in the Stark Mansion, Leif hardly had any time to think about Loki or his previous bitter encounter with his father and he was thankful for that. The few times the boy had managed to remember the incident, he found himself huddled up in his room with a hollow feeling inside him, blatantly ignoring his uncle, Bruce or Steve's knocks on his door to call him down for dinner. So instead of dwelling in those unhappy memories, Leif occupied himself with pranking the others and sometimes, openly flirting with a bemused Pepper with the sole purpose of aggravating Tony.

The boy's pleasure and happiness, however, was not shared by the rest of the people staying in the house. Tony lost count of the number of mugs of coffee he had drunk to calm himself down ( _Pepper had refused to let him drink anything alcoholic in case he actually harmed Leif while he was drunk_ ) and to keep awake after many sleepless nights. Clint and Natasha, on the other hand, had dryly informed the billionaire after the fourth day that they will be dispatched on some mission for S.H.I.E.L.D and would have to leave the very next day. Tony had gaped in surprise at this piece of news.

"Wha-" The bemused billionaire stuttered as he stared at the two smirking assassins incredulously. "But I thought that Fury had wanted us all in the same place so that we can assemble immediately when Loki appears!"

"We will rush back as soon as possible when Loki appears, Tony." Natasha answered with a sly grin. "After all, we can't stay in your house and  _have fun_  forever while waiting for that maniac to show up. We have other missions for S.H.I.E.L.D that we cannot neglect." The red headed assassin smiled while Clint nodded with approval at her answer.

"But what about the boy?" Tony demanded furiously. "Fury had said that the additional point of this arrangement is for the Avengers to keep that pesky brat in check!" Natasha gave a tiny giggle at the man's outrage.

"Oh Tony," Natasha said with amusement. "After claiming to be a genius, I can't believe you would actually believe that. What Fury means to say is that the additional point of this arrangement is for  _you_  to keep Bruce, Thor and Steve in check while  _you_  babysit the kid." Tony sputtered with shock and indignation at her words while Clint chuckled and reached over to pat the disgruntled billionaire on the shoulder.

"Cheer up buddy," Hawkeye grinned at the sullen Tony. "Director Fury must have thought that you were extremely capable to task you with this  _mission._  You won't see him dumping those three and that kid on me any time!" Tony scowled heavily at the man's words.

Fury is going to have some serious hell to pay once Tony gets his hands on him.

XXX

On the morning after the day Clint and Natasha had left, Leif was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen with Steve Rogers and Thor, eating his usual morning bowl of cereal. A cheery Pepper had claimed that today would be her day off and had flustered off for some trip to her mother's place, leaving behind a grumpy Tony and the remaining Avengers to their own means to prepare breakfast.

Steve had wisely followed Leif's example and was now eating a bowl of Frosty Flakes with milk for convenience sakes. However, Thor had not been impressed by the cold crackling bowl of cereal, proclaiming it to be 'inadequate' and was now searching through the cupboards for something 'more fitting'. The god finally found, much to his surprise and joy, an unopened box of Pop tarts that Pepper had purchased the day before.

"I remember this from back then when I had met Jane," Thor said, fondly reminiscing his days with his lover. "These Pop tarts are good." The Norse god then ripped open the box and stared in confusion at the packets of Pop tarts, not knowing how to prepare it.

"Let me help you, Uncle." Leif volunteered helpfully when he saw Thor's befuddled expression. He took the packets from the god's hands and cut one open, placing the Pop tart into the toaster, which was next to them. "There, now you just turn this thing on ( _Leif switched the toaster on_ ) and wait for your meal." Leif finished with a grin while Thor stared at his nephew suspiciously. He had not forgotten how Leif had tricked him countless times in the past four days and was not quite ready to trust the cunning boy yet.

"Come on now! Don't give me that look!" Leif said with mock exasperation and turned to Steve, who was watching the incident with interest. "Captain, what I had said is true, isn't it?"

"Well, I had seen Pepper preparing toast in a similar way-" Steve began with uncertainty but was interrupted by Leif, who turned brightly back to Thor.

"See, it works that way! You can just wait here. Your Pop tart will be ready soon." Leif insisted and Thor gave an apologetic grin. The god then stood in front of the toaster while Leif returned to his seat with a sly grin.

"Perhaps you would like to sit down and wait, Thor?" Steve mentioned kindly but the god shook his head.

"No thank you, my friend. I will just wait for a moment here." Thor replied and continued to stand and stare at the toaster, patiently waiting for his breakfast. Just then, Tony walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning gentlemen… and scrawny brat," The billionaire greeted lightly as he strode in. "It's my day off today as well. Why don't we-" However, Tony never managed to finish his sentence as at that very moment, the Pop tart was ready and had shot up from the toaster with a sudden 'ping!', shocking Thor immensely, who had not anticipated this change of events.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE MIGHTY THOR!" With a furious bellow, the Norse god grabbed his Mjolnir and swung it at the toaster with all his might, causing the machine to fly and smash into the wall, crumpling into a heap as the Pop tart flew out due to the impact and landed in the sink. The terrified Tony stumbled backwards and clung on to the frame of the kitchen door for dear life while Steve Rogers fell off his chair with shock. Even Leif, who had been expecting some sort of reaction from his uncle, gave a little jump after hearing Thor's thundering roar.

"WHAT. THE. HELL! What is wrong with you?" Tony exclaimed with anger at the provoked god after recovering from his initial fright. "Why did you do that to my toaster?" The enraged billionaire pointed to his now destroyed toaster which was emitting off feeble sparks of electricity.

"That foul device tried to attack me," Thor replied gruffly. "I did that purely out of self-defence." The god declared while Tony and Steve (who had climbed back up to his seat) stared at him incredulously.

"When the toaster prepares the Pop tart and it is ready, the Pop tart will pop out, Thor!" Tony snarled viciously. "The popping out action was supposed to happen! It was supposed to tell you when the food is ready, not to attack you! You have just destroyed my toaster for no good reason!" Thor looked abashed after listening to the billionaire and Tony's eyes shot to Leif, who was sniggering into his bowl of cereal.

"You! I should have known that you were behind all of this!" Tony spat out angrily while Leif looked up and flashed him an evil grin.

"Oh no, I didn't mean for this to happen." Leif replied with an irritatingly innocent expression. "I only wanted to teach my uncle how to prepare a Pop tart. How could I possibly know that he would have been terrified by the Pop tart popping out of the toaster?" Leif then turned to Thor, who was staring at him in disbelief. "I would have thought that your nerves were tougher than that after spending so much time on the battlefield, Uncle. And look! You wasted a Pop tart!" Leif added and pointed to the sink, where the inedible Pop tart now lay. Thor eyed his supposed breakfast ruefully while Leif gave another snigger.

"Captain! You knew that the boy can't be trusted! How could you let all of this happen?" Tony groaned while Steve looked ashamed.

"Well, I didn't think that-" Steve Rogers muttered and then stopped abruptly, not knowing what else to say. Tony wiped his face vigorously and walked over to prepare himself another mug of coffee.

"You'd think that after all the trouble that kid had caused in the past few days, people would be smarter than  _that_  to fall for another one of his tricks." The billionaire said tartly while shooting a nasty glare at Thor, who was still staring sadly at his wasted Pop tart. Then, the man took a sip of his coffee and started to choke and sputter uncontrollably, spilling most of the drink on the ground. Steve immediately leapt up from his seat to help Tony while Thor looked stunned by the scene. Leif, on the other hand, was smirking again.

"Wha-?" Tony stared at the remaining dark liquid in his mug with disbelief after he recovered. "What is this? Why-?"

"JARVIS!" The billionaire then roared in anger for his mechanical butler.

"Yes Sir?" Jarvis replied in his usual cool, robotic voice.

"What is this vile concoction? Why does my coffee taste so… so… so salty?" Tony demanded furiously, glaring into his mug.

"I believe that must be due to the fact that young Mr Lokison had coated the inner walls of your mug with a layer of melted salt, Sir." Jarvis replied simply.

"You knew and you didn't stop me?" Tony asked incredulously while Steve patted him sympathetically on the back.

"I thought that you would be smarter than that, Sir." Jarvis replied simply once more. Leif lost it at the sight of Tony's flabbergasted expression and was now guffawing uncontrollably with tears of mirth in his eyes, slamming his fists on the table's surface. Steve returned to his seat, unsure of what to do while the enraged Tony glared at the laughing boy and Thor looked dolefully at his nephew.

"Heh! Sorry guys, I got to go. Forgot to make my bed!" Leif snickered and dashed out of the kitchen, which was just as well since Tony's hand was inching dangerously closer to the kitchen chopper. In his hurry to escape, Leif bumped into Bruce, who was about to enter the kitchen, before shooting up the stairs.

"Wow. Where is that kid rushing off to?" Bruce smiled as he walked in but his smile soon faltered after he saw Tony's fuming expression and Thor's down cast face. Steve shrugged, giving Bruce a wry smile while the scientist's eyes flicked over and observed the smashed toaster.  _Uh oh._

"That boy is a menace! I don't see the reason why Fury hasn't buried him a thousand feet under the ground yet!" Tony snapped furiously while Bruce walked over and sat next to Steve, the only one who appeared to be safe around currently.

"Lighten up Tony. I am sure the boy means no harm. It's just another harmless prank," Steve said calmly but the billionaire was obviously too enraged to listen.

"Harmless prank?" Tony repeated in disbelief. "That brat salted my coffee! I could have died of shock from that! And look what he made Thor do to my toaster!" The man pointed furiously at the god and his destroyed heap of a machine. "We were lucky Bruce wasn't here when that happened. That boy is lethal!" Bruce gave a nervous smile at Tony's words while Steve remained silent. Then, to everyone's surprise, Thor spoke up.

"Leif may have something for mischief but the boy has not gone as far as his father had yet." Thor spoke up grimly. "He is like Loki when he was younger; always teasing and tricking the others but never meaning to cause any harm." Steve nodded at Thor's statement.

"Right, and that's why it's our job to make sure that the kid stays on the right track." The Captain pointed out to Tony, who gave a cynical snort. After hearing this, Bruce thought back to all his previous conversations with Leif thus far, especially their first talk where Leif had told him that a person's choices determine who they are.

"You know what, guys? I think we don't have to worry that much about Leif. He may be very similar to Loki but there is also something that makes them very different from each other." Bruce said thoughtfully while Steve and Thor gazed at him with curiosity. Tony, on the other hand, seemed disturbed by the scientist's words. "The choices they make are different." Bruce continued to answer the others' questioning looks.

"With the choices  _he_  makes, that kid is going to give one of us a heart attack sooner or later!" Tony retorted nastily.

"Well, we all know that person can't be you, Tony." Steve replied dryly. "You need a real heart to have a heart attack; not that arc reactor in your chest." Tony glared at the super soldier as he continued. "After all, you are not like us old people who die easily from heart attacks."

"You bear grudges, don't you?" An unhappy Tony muttered as Steve shot him another wry smile.


	15. The Trickster's Schemes

The God of Mischief gazed out of the window quietly. He observed the flashing headlights of the cars speeding on the roads, occasionally hearing loud honks made by irritated drivers. He looked as people staggered about on the streets, drunk and wasted. He watched with loathing as a bunch of hooligans hurled vulgarities at each other on the street just below his window, about to start a brawl.

_Disgusting. Foolish, mindless creatures._

Loki closed the window and drew the curtains, effectively blocking out the repulsive noises from the streets outside. He looked around the tiny, dark room that he was in, surveying the dirty tiles and stained bed sheets with distaste.  _Urgh._ Loki was in a small, secluded motel on one of the rougher streets in the city. Of course, it was not a place the god would have usually chosen to stay in; after all, Loki definitely preferred classier and cleaner rooms in 5 star hotels. However, being in a secluded area has its perks; those buffoons from S.H.I.E.L.D would never dream of looking for him here, especially since it would be out of character for the dignified god to seek refuge in such a woebegone place.

_Not like they will have the time anyway._

Loki grinned to himself. After making Leif destroy the entire S.H.I.E.L.D building, he had used his astral projection to observe how flustered the agents at the organisation were. They would be too busy searching for another place for headquarters, too busy thinking up a perfect cover story as to why a 60 level building collapsed by itself all of a sudden. They certainly won't have the time and resources to search for little old him… at least, not yet. Wrecking the S.H.I.E.L.D building had bought Loki time, and time was essential for the god's plan.

The god had rented a room in this wretched little motel for shelter while preparing for his next move. The money he had used was conveniently taken from unknowing passer-bys on the streets. Pick-pocketing: A useful skill that Thea had eagerly taught her lover in the past, which Loki was grateful for. Although the god could have gotten all the money he needed using magic, it would be risky to do so, especially in a crowded street. Loki did not like the idea of accidentally flashing his powers to an unsuspecting mortal and drawing unwanted attention to himself. No, he had to stay low, for now. Loki walked over to the cracked mirror in the room. As he stood in front of the mirror, a beautiful woman with long flowing black hair and dark brown eyes stared ruefully back at him.

_Thea…_

After reaching Earth, Loki had immediately shape shifted into the only human he could ever bear impersonating; his lover. It was a necessary step to throw the radar of S.H.I.E.L.D off his tracks as he knew that the organisation would be searching the entire planet for him. The god gazed sadly at his reflection, Thea's reflection, and felt a pang of longing and sorrow in his heart once again.

_She deserved better._

Even till now, Loki could not get over his guilt of how he had left Thea alone with their child on Earth 18 years ago. Thea deserved better than that. She deserved to be by his side and to bask in the glory along with him as the mother of his son, not dying alone on the hospital bed. Loki wished that he had defied Odin's orders at that time. After all, Odin had not truly wanted him, but Thea had. Loki placed his hand on the mirror, gently touching the image of his lover's face, which was lined with sadness and melancholy.

_I am sorry…_

Thea is gone. That is a fact that even the God of Trickery cannot do anything about. However, she had left Loki with an extremely precious gift; their son. The god thought back to his latest encounter with Leif, where the boy had spitefully announced that he no longer sees Loki as his father.  _My son hates me,_  Loki thought with a doleful smile.  _And I can't really blame him for that._

Loki knew that he should not have used Leif to destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D building, but he had told himself that he had no other choice. It was the quickest and easiest way to strike the enemy at the core of their defences; to buy Loki sufficient time to carry out his plans. The god had reasoned that he would be able to win Leif back to his side in the end, when Loki had finally gained control of Earth. The boy would understand then, that all Loki had done was for the both of them, he had to. And even if the boy is obstinate, Loki would  _persuade_ him and make him return to his father's side; the god was determined about that.

The God of Mischief gave another sigh and stared at Thea's image once more. He cannot fail this time. He had to succeed, no matter what happens. For Thea. For Leif. For Loki himself.

_Those dull, pitiful creatures think that they can stop me._

Loki smirked and watched as Thea's face twisted into an evil smile as well.

_Well, they are wrong._

Loki has the Casket of the Ancient Winters now and this time his plan is perfect. However, to carry out his plan, Loki would first need resources. And the god knew exactly where to get those resources.

XXX

Justin Hammer sat behind the desk in his office, his forehead furrowed with worry and despair.

It had been a long time since that catastrophic unveiling of the Hammer Tech drones at the Stark Expo and because of that maniac Vanko, the reputation of Hammer Tech had gone down the drains. The value of the shares of the company was dropping and even though Stark Industries was no longer in the weapon manufacturing industry, Hammer Tech had not been able to clinch much business either. Justin Hammer slammed a fist on his table in anger. Buyers had still preferred to use the old weapons manufactured from Tony Stark's company rather than purchase new equipment from Hammer Tech.

_I don't see how Stark's weapons are so much more superior to mine._

The defence contractor thought bitterly about his arrogant rival, resisting the urge to spit out in disgust.  _Stark thinks himself a genius!_  Justin sneered spitefully,  _Well, I will show him!_ The man's thoughts then flicked furiously towards Tony's lover, Pepper Potts.  _That bitch._ Justin was still furious about how that woman had turned him over to the police during the Vanko incident. She had obviously wanted to help her lover to put Justin away for good. Unfortunately for them, the contractor was able to buy his way out, and he is hell bent on making them pay. Justin Hammer was just thinking about the various ways he would like to torture Stark and Potts slowly to their deaths when his secretary called him on his phone.

"Yes?" Justin answered wearily.

"Mr Hammer, there is a woman outside who would like to request a meeting with you." His secretary's crisp clear voice sounded through the phone.

"Who is she? What does she want?" Justin asked with suspicion.  _Damn… this had better not be another case of debt collection!_

"She says her name is Thea Black. She wishes to see you regarding matters about the company." The secretary's voice paused for a moment. "She insists that further details will only be revealed after you meet her."

"Tell her that I am not interested. I don't care for whatever bull shit insurance policies or anything like that!" Justin Hammer snapped with irritation. There was a brief moment of silence and then his secretary spoke up once more.

"Ms Black says that you will be sorry if you do not meet her, Mr Hammer. She says that she has a way to save your company."

Justin jolted up at these words.  _A way to save my company?_ He contemplated this for a moment before deciding that there will be no harm in seeing this mysterious woman for a while. He had the time to kill; after all, there is no business for Hammer Tech recently.

"Fine… Send her in." Justin huffed tiredly.

The doors to his office opened and his secretary strode in, followed by a ravishing black haired lady with gorgeous brown eyes. Hammer gaped in surprise at the sight of this woman.

_God, she's hot._

It took a while for Justin to compose himself before he flashed a huge and charismatic (or so he hoped) smile at this beautiful young woman.

"Good afternoon Ms Black," Justin said warmly. "Please, have a seat. To what may I owe this pleasure?" Thea Black smiled, making Justin's heart beat faster than ever, and sat down gracefully on the chair the man had gestured to. Disgusted by her boss's lust and sudden change of attitude, Hammer's secretary walked out of the room, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Good afternoon Mr Hammer." Thea Black said with a clear, yet seductive voice. "I am sure your secretary had told you that I am here with a proposition to help your company from its impending doom?" Justin nodded dazedly without even listening properly to what she said, distracted by the lady's deep brown eyes. Thea grinned at the man's dizzy expression.

"Well I can help you defeat Stark Industries once and for all." Thea continued firmly. Justin sat up straight in his chair with astonishment after hearing these words.

"How?" The defence contractor whispered in a low voice, as though he was afraid someone else might hear. The black haired lady merely smirked at his anxiety.

"I have an item… an incredible power source that can be used to create weapons more powerful than Stark had ever imagined." Thea gave a sly smile while Justin gaped in shock.

"What power source? Where is it?" Justin asked hastily, anxious to know what the woman meant.

"It's right here," Thea smirked and conjured up a casket which gave off an icy blue glow right on Hammer's desk. Justin pushed his chair back in fright and toppled over, landing painfully on the ground. The man stared at the glowing casket as well as the sniggering woman in horror as he got onto his feet and took a step back.

"Jesus…" Justin muttered under his breath as Thea flashed him an evil smirk.  _What is this woman?_

"Yes, as you can see, I am no ordinary human." Thea gave an amused grin. "Do not ask me who I am though," She continued as the man stuttered something incomprehensible under his breath. "You only need to know that I have come to help you, to give you the answer to your prayers. I came to help you bring down Stark." Thea paused for a moment and waited patiently for Justin to regain his calm. After a few minutes, the man finally mustered up enough courage to step closer to his desk and gaze in amazement at the glowing casket.

"What is this?" Justin whispered with his eyes fixed on the curious item.

"A magical relic. An unlimited energy source. That's all you need to know." Thea replied quietly. "It holds an amazing power," She touched the casket and a deep blue glow radiated from it, covering Hammer's desk with a layer of ice. Justin took another step back in terror. "It can be used to create the most powerful weapons," Thea explained calmly. "And with these weapons, you can save Hammer Tech from bankruptcy." Thea watched with satisfaction as the look of trepidity in the man's eyes turned into a look of greed. He stepped towards the relic and reached out to touch it, only to withdraw his hand hastily due to the biting cold aura around the casket.

"Yes," Justin grinned voraciously. "This will save my company. But why?" The man looked up and stared at the smirking woman with suspicion. "Why are you helping me?"

"Let's just say that I have an old feud with Stark." Thea gave a cunning grin which caused a chill to run down Justin's spine. "So how about it Mr Hammer? Are you willing to pool in your resources and equipment to build weapons with my energy source?" Justin stared longingly at the casket once more. It is a beacon of hope; the only thing that could save him and Hammer Tech now.

"Yes, of course." The man smiled with glee. "I will have my professionals examine it at once and we will-"

"No."

Justin stared back at the silent lady with disbelief.

"Pardon?"

"I will not have ordinary humans messing and poking about with the Casket." Thea replied quietly, her eyes staring coldly into Justin's.

"I assure you that my men here in Hammer Tech are geniuses in their field who could-" Justin began hastily but was soon cut off by Thea.

"I need a person with brains to work with the Casket, Mr Hammer, not a bunch of primitive baboons." Thea smirked nastily and Justin began to feel annoyed by this mysterious lady.

"Fine then! Who is the person with brains that you suggest?" Justin snapped with irritation and Thea flashed another sly grin.

"Oh, I have a most suitable candidate in mind, Mr Hammer."

XXX

Loki walked down the dark, empty street. It was nightfall now and there was not a single soul to be seen.

The God of Lies smirked to himself as he thought about his earlier encounter that day with Justin Hammer. The extent of that man's greed and lust is amusing. Loki could still remember the desire in his eyes when he gazed at the god's face ( _which had looked like Thea's, of course_ ) as well as the hunger in his expression when he stared at the Casket of the Ancient Winters. Hammer's craving for both Thea's beauty and the relic's power had made him extremely easy to manipulate into Loki's will.

 _Excellent,_ Loki grinned.  _Even when Thea is not by my side, she is still helping me._

Loki had left the Hammer Tech building that afternoon with glee, taking the Casket with him of course, much to Justin Hammer's disappointment. Did that foolish man actually think that Loki would leave something so precious and valuable in those lesser beings' hands? The god had stated that he would return once he had recruited a suitable person to work with the Casket, which he is about to do now.

The neighbourhood Loki was in now is a particularly rough and poor one. The god walked past rows of tattered looking houses, observing his surroundings distastefully.  _This place cannot even be considered as a proper living environment_ , Loki thought in disgust.  _It is merely a slum._ The god strode on until he reached a tiny, battered cottage which seemed about to collapse at any moment.

 _So he lives here?_  Loki wrinkled his nose with repulsion at the sight.  _Oh well, what matters the most is the man living in this pigsty, not the pigsty itself._  Loki smirked as he walked up to the door of the run-down cottage.

He had obtained the resources he needed; now Loki needs the brain.

XXX

Samuel Sterns stood in front of his dirty looking mirror, glaring at his own reflection with hatred. The man's head was mutilated, deformed with huge bulges that had popped out of the top of his skull, causing his head to be far bigger than an average human's.

_And this was all that Hulk's fault._

Years ago when Samuel was still normal, the cellular biologist had met a mysterious man on the internet called Mr Green. Samuel, under the alias of Mr Blue, had chatted with this man and found out that he had a curious problem. Mr Green would transform into an enormous green monster which is dangerously strong whenever he is agitated or angry. Samuel had offered to help the man and Mr Green had sent him a blood sample which the cellular biologist had eagerly synthesized. When he had finally met Mr Green, who was later known to be Bruce Banner, he had helped his friend to test out a possible antidote for his condition successfully. Samuel had then excitedly showed Bruce the blood supply he had synthesised and explained to the bemused man about his plans to bring humans to the next evolutionary level using Bruce's blood.

 _It was a stroke of genius!_  Samuel thought angrily to himself.  _It was a fantastic plan!_

That pathetic man had refused of course, and had even demanded that Samuel got rid of the blood supply. Just as Samuel was trying to persuade him, to make him see the brilliance of his idea, the US army forces had attacked and dragged Bruce and his girlfriend Betty Ross away. Samuel Sterns was then left alone with a genetically modified soldier, Blonsky, who demanded the man to inject him with Banner's blood. Samuel had no choice but to comply and Blonsky turned into a monster, an Abomination who knocked Samuel into his equipment and caused the Hulk's blood to drip onto his head. The blood had not only mutilated him, causing his head to bulge out but had also increased the man's intelligence, making him even smarter than the genius he already is.

Despite also being a victim in this incident, the authorities had pinned the blame of the Abomination destroying New York onto Samuel, causing him to lose his job. The deformed man had then struggled to find another employer who could accept him, who could recognise the true worth of his genius, but he had failed miserably. The people had scorned and despised Samuel due to his strange looks and ostracised him, causing the once well-to-do man to sink into poverty and resigned to living in a filthy tiny cottage in a secluded neighbourhood.

_Those fools! Someday I will make all of them pay!_

At that moment, there was a knock on Samuel's door, interrupting the man's spiteful thoughts. Surprised that someone would be looking for him at this time of the night, Samuel walked over to the door and opened it cautiously. After all, he had his fair share of unpleasant experiences when people were shocked by his appearance in the past. A raven haired woman stood on the steps to his cottage, flashing a cunning grin. She made no signs of terror or shock at the sight of Samuel's deformed head, which had surprised the man greatly.

"Dr Samuel Sterns?" The woman smiled slyly. "I have come to meet you. May I enter?" Her words stunned Samuel, who had not been spoken to so politely since the day he was mutilated.  _Dr Samuel Sterns._  In his shock, the man awkwardly nodded and gestured for the lady to enter, who gracefully did and sat down promptly on the man's tattered couch without even being offered a seat. Samuel pulled a chair across the floor opposite the woman and sat down stiffly, observing the strange intruder in his house.

 _She is beautiful,_ Samuel thought to himself. However, the cellular biologist had never been one who would lust after women; he had a hunger for science instead. Therefore, he regained his usual calm after a few seconds and glared at the woman with suspicion.

"Who are you?" Samuel growled in a low, intimidating voice.

"I am Thea Black." The lady answered simply, giving Samuel a tiny grin and showing that she was not the least bit scared about being in the home of this deformed man. "I have come to recruit you to help at Hammer Tech and develop weapons." Samuel Sterns was even more astounded by her words. She came to recruit him? Samuel himself had been searching for a job for years to no avail and now, this mysterious woman shows up on his door step to offer him employment?

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Samuel snarled viciously. "You came offering me a job when everyone else despises the very mention of me? Do not take me for a fool! You had better tell me the true reason why you are here,  _Ms Black_ … And I doubt it is even your real name." Samuel sneered as the lady before him seemed amused. The cellular biologist had to admit that this woman is unusually brave; other people would have been terrified once they see this monstrous looking man glaring at them but there she was, sitting on the couch as cool as a cucumber.

"I knew that as a genius you would be sharp," The lady gave a tiny chuckle. "If you weren't, I would not have come here. Very well, so you want to know who I really am?" Thea gave a wicked grin which caused Samuel's insides to turn cold.

"I am Loki."

As soon as the words left the woman's mouth, she shape shifted into a man with jet black hair and evil looking green eyes. Samuel Sterns jolted up from his chair immediately, shocked by the woman's sudden transformation. The emerald eyes of the man gleamed with amusement as he watched Samuel's stupefied expression. It took a while for Samuel to compose himself before he could speak.

"Loki? God of Mischief?" The terrified man muttered while Loki simply smirked and nodded.

"Why are you here?" Samuel whispered in fear as he stared at the god in front of him. He had heard about Loki's exploits, about how this man had led an army of aliens, Chitauri, to attack and massacre New York City. Loki is dangerous and you do not need to be a genius like Samuel to know that you would not want to cross him.

"To offer you a chance to prove yourself," Loki smirked evilly. "To offer you an opportunity for vengeance." Samuel's eyes gleamed when he heard the god's last word.  _Vengeance?_

"I know who and what you are, Dr Sterns," The God of Mischief continued quietly. "You are a fallen genius, slighted by fools who do not recognise the value of your intelligence. They judge you on trivial, petty things such as appearance, failing to realise how brilliant you actually are." Loki smirked as he watched the frustration and anger flashing in Samuel Sterns' eyes. "But I do." Loki said soothingly.

"I acknowledge your worth, and I recognise your brilliance. I came today to seek your help in my plans." Loki smiled slyly as Samuel looked astounded and pleased at the same time by his words.

"My help?" The man questioned, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"Yes, my dear Doctor," Loki grinned. The god then brought out a glowing casket which Samuel stared at in awe. "This is the Casket of Ancient Winters," Loki explained. "It holds an unimaginable power, enough to freeze the Earth over, if you know what I mean." Samuel reached out in amazement to touch the relic but Loki stopped him.

"No, Doctor. The freezing aura around the Casket will harm you," The god smiled while Samuel withdrew his hand gingerly.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Samuel whispered quietly as he continued to gaze in wonderment at the Casket. Loki grinned to himself gleefully.

_Looks like Sterns is really interested in the Casket._

"I need you to help me build a machine, a weapon that can utilize the full power and energy of the Casket, making it possible to even freeze the entire Earth." Loki declared and Sterns once again, looked shocked by the god's words.

"What?" Samuel croaked hoarsely.

"I believe you had heard me the first time, Doctor." Loki smirked. "I shall not repeat what I had said. I want the device to be programmed in a way such that the range of area frozen and the extent of the freezing can be controlled accurately. It requires a true genius to accomplish that, Dr Sterns, and I believe you are that genius." Samuel's eyes flicked nervously from the god to the Casket and then back again.

"Why would you want me to build such a weapon of mass destruction?" Samuel started and then his eyes widened with horror. "You want to-"

"Yes, I wish to conquer Earth." Loki grinned wickedly. "I am sure you know of my first failed attempt? ( _Samuel nodded_ ) Well, I am determined to be less… compassionate this time. Rather than attacking with an army, I plan to use the Casket, and I will need a machine that can utilize and unleash its full power." The God of Mischief snickered happily at the thought. "You will help me, will you not?" He added to the stunned Samuel. "It is a rare opportunity to work with a magical relic as powerful as the Casket of Ancient Winters. I am sure that the idea is extremely alluring to men like you." Samuel gazed at the Casket with longing once more.

"And what will I get in return if I help you?" Samuel demanded and Loki smirked with glee at the man's question.

"A chance to bask in the glory as the right hand man of the ruler of Earth. Revenge on all those fools who have dared to scorn and mock you in the past. And finally, but most importantly, recognition of your brilliance." The God of Lies gave a cunning grin as Samuel's face twisted into an expression of longing and greed.

"I think… I have a slight idea of how I can make this thing work," Samuel flashed a maniacal smile as he gazed gleefully at the Casket. Loki smirked to himself as he observed the insane glint in the deformed man's eyes.

_Typical humans. Regardless of whether they are geniuses or not, they are always so foolishly easy to manipulate._


	16. The Visits

It would be an understatement to say that Thor is happy this afternoon; in fact, the Norse god is practically giddy with joy.

That morning after Tony had decided it would be safer to bring Bruce along to work with him and Captain America had gone out for his usual daily run, Leif and Thor received two unexpected visitors.  Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, both who had missed Thor dearly, had finally found the time to fly over from the Observatory in Tromso that Jane was working in to pay the god a visit. Thor had greeted the two women jovially and gave Jane a bear hug while Leif stood by the side, observing the scene with interest. Darcy had then cheerfully suggested that they all go out for some coffee and Leif soon found himself sitting in a posh little café near the Stark Mansion, sipping his cappuccino while Thor chatted animatedly with Jane.

 _So this is Uncle’s dream girl?_ Leif thought in amusement to himself as he gazed at the pretty, brown haired woman. _I must say that he has good taste._

After Thor had gleefully introduced his nephew to his lover, Jane Foster turned to Leif with a bright smile.

“Hello Leif, it’s nice to meet you! I am Jane Foster, a friend of your Uncle’s.” Jane held out her hand, which Leif took and shook politely while sporting a mischievous grin.

“Oh I know your name. My uncle had shouted it out so loudly when he saw you that I am sure the whole world would know by now.” Leif smirked. “By the way, should I call you Aunt Jane?” The boy added cheekily, making Jane blush involuntarily. Thor, on the other hand, did not seem pleased by his nephew’s quips.

“Mind how you speak, Leif.” The God of Thunder growled while Jane patted him on the arm and assured him that it was alright. Leif grinned once more and gave a casual shrug, continuing to sip his drink quietly while Jane and Thor went on with their conversation. However, Darcy Lewis, who was sitting next to Leif, seemed to have taken an interest in the boy. After introducing herself earnestly to Leif, Darcy had continued to stare at him with a dazed expression on her face while he drank his coffee. Normally, Leif would have found this extremely irritating (remember the Volstagg incident?), however, given that Leif was in a pretty good mood that day and how he had thought Darcy to be pretty cute, the boy simply kept quiet and enjoyed the attention he was receiving.

“Has anyone ever told you before that you look hot?” Darcy piped up suddenly, still admiring Leif’s beautiful, emerald green eyes. Jane Foster stared incredulously at her assistant, embarrassed that Darcy would even say such a thing. Thor looked amused and turned his attention to his nephew, wondering how the boy would respond to that. Nonetheless, Leif seemed unflustered and gave Darcy an artful grin.

“Oh I had heard that numerous times before, Darcy,” Leif replied matter-of-factly. “However, hearing that coming from you makes it so much more flattering.” Leif gave Darcy a wink, causing the girl to burst into a series of embarrassed giggles while Jane gaped in surprise at the exchange. Thor was impressed and secretly thought to himself that Leif was right in his argument with Fandral about their romantic exploits; the hopeless romantic had a lot to learn from the boy.

“Can I take a photo of you for Facebook?” Darcy asked eagerly, whipping out her hand phone.

“No,” Leif grinned at the disappointed expression on Darcy’s face. “I have an even better idea,” The boy added brightly. “Why don’t we take a photo _together_ for Facebook?” Darcy squealed in delight at Leif’s suggestion and switched her phone to camera mode. Leif then moved closer to Darcy’s side, grinning widely at the camera lens while the girl flashed a big smile and made a peace sign. Soon there was a clicking noise, a bright flash and Darcy and Leif were observing the photo with Darcy commenting about how good the two of them looked in it.

Unlike Jane, who was shaking her head in disbelief at her assistant’s childishness, Thor stared in bemusement at what Darcy and his nephew had done. Despite having learnt a lot more about these Midgardian contraptions (most of the credit went to Leif of course), the god still did not understand the concept of camera cell phones.

“What are the two of you doing?” Thor asked, his deep voice filled with curiosity.

“Taking a photo, Uncle dear,” Leif grinned and showed Thor the photo of him and Darcy in the cell phone. Thor gasped in horror at the photo.

“Leif! This evil device has created and trapped a copy of you and Darcy inside of it! Do not fear! I shall get rid of this foul thing!” Thor bellowed and raised his Mjolnir, attracting weird stares from around the café. Luckily for them, the shop was relatively empty that day and only the waiters as well as a teenage couple were present to witness this strange display. Leif snatched back the phone hurriedly as Darcy gave a shriek of terror. Jane grabbed Thor’s arm and forced him back to his seat while looking around the café sheepishly.

“Sorry, he is rehearsing for a play. Supposed to act as an ancient warrior, you know.” Jane explained apologetically to the sceptical onlookers and shot Thor a reproachful look. “Stop that!” Jane whispered urgently to the god, who seemed too distracted by the photo to care.

“But Jane! That thing has-” Thor tried to protest before Leif spoke up.

“Now now Uncle, there is no cause for panic,” Leif smirked while Darcy clutched her phone close to her chest protectively. “The cell phone merely took a photo, an image of me and Darcy, and saved the photo. It is not a real life version of us. Taking photos is a Midgardian way for humans to remember precious moments by.” Leif explained and slyly placed his arm around Darcy’s shoulders, with the seeming excuse of comforting the scared girl. Thor listened incredulously to his nephew’s words and turned to Jane, who confirmed that what Leif said was true.

“I still think that it is a form of dark magic,” Thor grumbled sulkily as he leant back on his chair. “You should be more careful, Nephew.”

“Of course I will be,” Leif chuckled as he browsed through the photos in Darcy’s phone. The boy stopped and gazed with amazement at the photo of Thor Darcy had taken the year ago, which showed the god grinning with his mouth stuffed with food. “My! Look Uncle! There is a photo of you inside as well!” Leif smirked and flashed the picture to Thor, who stared at it in disbelief.

“A great photo, isn’t it?” Darcy chirped up happily. “I took it last year when we first found you, Thor!” The god snorted with displeasure at the sight of the photo, refusing to believe that the man with the bulging cheeks and stupid grin was him.

“That is not me!” Thor grunted unhappily. “I don’t look anything like that!” Leif looked at the photo of his uncle once more and gave an evil grin.

“You know what, Uncle? I think you are right! This guy looks better than you!” Leif smirked slyly and Darcy burst out into a hysterical laughter. Thor scowled heavily at his nephew while Jane grinned with amusement at her lover’s indignation, clutching on to his arm lovingly.

XXX

Justin Hammer stared in bemusement at the ugly deformed man twiddling with the machine parts and equipment before him.

_Urgh… He looks revolting!_

Two days ago, Thea Black had brought this strange man into his office and introduced him simply as Dr Sterns. She had claimed that he was a genius and that he would be the most suitable person to work on creating weapons with the Casket. Despite having doubts about this dubious man, Justin had known better than to argue with the mysterious woman. He figured that there would be no harm in letting this Dr Sterns experiment with the Casket and use his equipment, as long as the man actually manage to produce powerful weapons in the end.

Justin continued to observe Dr Sterns with distaste as the man screwed some machine parts together and muttered some sort of gibberish to himself under his breath. Thea had insisted that Dr Sterns would work alone, and Justin was glad that he complied. The man seemed a little unhinged to him, and it will not be good for Hammer Tech’s reputation if rumours got out that they were hiring a madman to develop weapons. Thea Black strutted next to Justin while he was thinking and gazed at Dr Sterns’ work along with him.

“He is making good progress, isn’t he?” Thea said happily while Justin merely nodded. He had no idea if the man had made any progress or not. In fact, he didn’t even have a slightest idea of what the man was doing! Thea seemed to realise this and shook her head in disbelief at Justin’s ignorance. She strode over to Dr Sterns, who suddenly seemed to notice her (the man had been oblivious to Justin’s presence all along), and greeted her enthusiastically.

“The weapon is coming along brilliantly, _Ms Black_.” Dr Sterns grinned with a maniacal glint in his eyes. Justin could have sworn that the man had mentioned Thea’s name with cynicism; it was as though Sterns had found the reference to her name as funny.

“Good, Doctor.” Thea smirked and gazed at the Casket on the table beside the half completed machine. There were wires of some sort attached to the Casket, linking it to some computers that Sterns had built and programmed. She patted the Casket, causing the light blue glow around it to darken and the lines of graphs displayed on the computer screens shot up as the room grew chillier. Justin gave an involuntary shiver. “I trust that the Casket is cooperating?” Thea grinned slyly as she took her hand off the relic, returning it back to its usual icy blue glow.

“Oh, she is,” Sterns replied happily. “She is wonderful so far. I have gotten all the data I needed to build our weapon.” The madman continued with an evil smile. Justin sputtered with indignation at his words. _Their weapon?_ Justin had a part in this project as well! Perhaps he should speak about this matter to Thea Black next time they were alone. And speaking of being alone with Thea…

“Umm… Ms Black?” Justin smiled at Thea timidly as the lady walked back to his side while Sterns continued tinkering with his machine. Thea turned to Justin with her brows raised in a questioning look. “I was just thinking that we could go grab a drink or something tonight? On me?” Justin continued hopefully. “You know… I have yet to thank you properly for helping me.” He added while Thea gave a nasty smirk.

“There is no need for thanks, Mr Hammer.” Thea replied coolly while Justin’s smile faded with disappointment. “Besides, I have an errand to see to tonight.” Justin gaped in surprise at her words and was about to make another hasty request for the lady to reconsider when Thea turned and walked back to the Casket.

“I am taking this with me for tonight.” Thea grinned as she waved her hand over the Casket and caused it to vanish in thin air.

“Wha- What? But what about the developing of the weapons?” Justin sputtered out in shock.

“Oh, I am sure that the Doctor already has all the data he needs to proceed with the development.” Thea sneered as she turned to Sterns. “Am I right, Doctor?” Sterns gave a wide, creepy smile at Thea’s words and nodded fervently. Thea smirked and turned back to Justin, who seemed utterly disturbed. “See, Mr Hammer. There is no need for concern.” Thea Black gave another chilling chuckle and strode out of the room, leaving a disgruntled Justin and passionate Samuel behind.

When Thea, or rather Loki, got out of the building, he headed towards an isolated alley before preparing to teleport to his next destination. Loki grinned wickedly to himself as he thought about his next course of action.

The God of Mischief has a debt to claim.

XXX

Natasha Romanoff sat at the bar of a notorious nightclub, ignoring the wolf whistles and lusty stares thrown in her direction by the less-than-virtuous men around her.

Her mission for S.H.I.E.L.D this time was to take down an elusive spy who had recently infiltrated into America’s security systems and stolen classified information. The man had escaped and was now hiding in Russia, where Clint and Natasha had tracked him down. They learnt from an informer that the man was a usual customer at this bar and Natasha had offered to be the one stationed here, undercover while waiting for the target to appear. Clint knew better than to argue with the Black Widow and had agreed to wait for her report and act as back up if necessary.

Natasha sighed and took another small sip of her Martini. She had been waiting for 3 hours now, and the man had yet to arrive. Could it be that someone had tipped her target off and told him that someone was searching for him? Natasha shook her head and put that disturbing thought at the back of her mind. No, it was not possible. Only S.H.I.E.L.D personnel, Clint and Natasha herself knew about this mission. Of course, there was still that informer but he had been silenced as well, although it was not in the Natasha way. Clint had stuffed his mouth with money and sent him out of the country to somewhere with a better environment, out of sight and hearing. Therefore there is no way anyone could have warned the man.

Just as Natasha was organising her train of thoughts, she spotted a tall lanky man with black framed glasses entering the club. His narrow slits of eyes met Natasha’s sea blue ones and for a moment, it seemed as though time had stood still. The dark man’s eyes widened with terror at the sight of Natasha’s grim face and appeared to understand what was going to happen in a matter of seconds. He turned immediately and made a hasty retreat from the club as Natasha sprang up from her seat and tore through the crowd after him.

The Black Widow was in hot pursuit of her target when he turned and entered a dark and narrow alley which Natasha knew would lead to a dead end. Whipping out her gun, the red headed assassin entered the alley cautiously, looking out for any signs of the man. The alley had a few turns and corners which would lead the man nowhere but provide him with a hiding spot to wait in ambush for his pursuer. As Natasha reached the last crook in the alley, she turned and pointed her gun straight ahead, expecting to find the man cowering in fear. However, what met her eyes was a gruesome view of her target, bloodied, lifeless and slumped down against the wall.

Natasha took in the sight before her with horror and took small, careful steps towards the body. There was a tiny nagging feeling in her heart, and it had made her extremely uncomfortable.

 _There is something wrong about this scene._ Natasha thought grimly to herself while she observed the corpse. _Something is not right about it… but what? What is not right?_

And it was then that Natasha realised with a shock: The frame of the man’s glasses, which were lopsided and barely balanced on his nose, was grey. Not black. _This_ man before her had never made it into the club.

“Hello Natasha.” An eerie yet familiar voice whispered behind the assassin. Natasha turned around sharply and found herself staring into a gleaming pair of emerald green eyes.

XXX

Clint Barton dashed into the dark alley.

He was in a mission together with Natasha to assassinate a renowned hacker who had gone too far in his trade and they had managed to locate the man. Natasha had stubbornly insisted on going after the man solo in the club, as she always did and Clint had allowed her to have her way, thinking that the nerdy man would not be much of a challenge anyway. Thus, it was decided that Clint will stay as backup and Natasha would report back to him regularly about what was going on. The master archer had sat in their car, waiting for his partner’s reports and basically relaxing, knowing that Natasha would be able to handle the situation easily on her own.

However, something had gone wrong.

Just fifteen minutes ago, Natasha had muttered over her earpiece that she was on the man’s tracks. Clint had smiled in satisfaction, knowing that the Black Widow never took more than five minutes to finish off her target. He waited patiently for her next report; for Natasha to say that their mission is accomplished and order him to start the car so that they could go off and celebrate. However, that report never came. After waiting in vain for ten minutes, Clint had started to sense that something was not right and had called for Natasha over their ear pieces. There was no reply. The anxious Clint had then headed out of their car to the club and found the alley way that Natasha had reported about. Just as he reached, a shrill piercing scream sounded from inside the alley, turning Clint’s insides cold. He knew that voice.

_Natasha!_

Clint immediately rushed into the alley and drew out his gun, desperate to save his friend. He wished that he had brought his bow and arrows; after all, Hawkeye had always been more comfortable with his weapon of choice. However, since he was supposed to be undercover, he had to settle for less attention drawing weapons like his pistol and army knife instead. Clint felt goose bumps appearing on his skin as he charged deeper into the alley.

_Is it just me, or is the air in this place getting colder?_

Clint turned at the final curve and gasped in shock. Natasha was in front of him, but she was frozen in a block of ice. Clint could still see the terror trapped in his friend’s eyes as she stood there, rigid and still. In his moment of distraction, the assassin failed to realise that someone had appeared behind him. Before Clint could react, a sharp pain shot his temple and the man slammed sideways into the wall beside him, dropping his gun in the process. Dazed by the sudden blow, Clint looked up and his eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the man smirking down at him.

“Loki!” Clint snarled and was reached for his knife when the god grinned evilly and kicked the assassin’s hand, causing the only weapon Clint had left to fly out into the darkness.

“Hello Barton, it’s nice to see you again.” Loki sneered and Clint felt a rush of anger through his body.

“What do you want? What have you done to Natasha?” The man growled while Loki continued to smirk at him.

“I came to claim a debt that Agent Romanoff owed me, Barton.” Loki replied, his eyes gleaming with evil. “Dear _Tasha_ had requested for your safe return in the past, when I had taken over your mind. I had returned you, have I not?” Loki grinned as Clint glared at him in disbelief. “Despite my unwillingness, Natasha has managed to snatch you away from my control. Therefore I shall take it to mean that I have fulfilled my part of the deal, and now I have come to claim what your little lover owes me.”

Clint gave another furious snarl and lurched towards the mocking god, bent on tearing the villain to shreds. However, Loki was too fast for him and kicked him swiftly in the abdomen, causing the assassin to slam back against the wall and cringe at the pain.

“How does it feel to be cornered like an animal, Barton?” Loki whispered quietly as his cold eyes came into contact with Clint’s. “Doesn’t this scene remind you of that time in the Stark Towers? You had pointed an arrow into my face back then.” The god gave another twisted grin and conjured up a glowing blue Casket. “I don’t have an arrow to return the favour… but I have something much better.” Clint’s eyes widened in horror and his stomach clenched with terror as he stared at the glowing Casket.

_God! This is bad!_

Loki smirked and his eyes flashed with glee at the sight of his prey’s fear.

“Yes Barton. I believe in Midgardian slang you people would say that this is something… much **_cooler_**.”

XXX

Thor sat on the couch, staring forlornly at the blank screen of the 55 inch television in front of him.

After a day of joy and laughter, Jane and Darcy had left in the evening as Jane had to get back to work in her observatory. Thor had been unwilling to part with his lover once more and they had shared another kiss, embracing each other and making promises to visit the other once either of them had the time. Leif had also given a blushing, giggling Darcy a kiss on the back of her hand (he learnt that this Asgardian culture was extremely effective on Midgardian females) and had promised to stay in touch.

Therefore, Thor was now feeling extremely lonely and wishing ruefully for Jane to be by his side again. Leif, on the other hand, was on the laptop gifted to him by Tony Stark (in exchange for not deceiving Thor to destroy any further electronics) and was happily chatting with Darcy, who he had added on Facebook. As Thor had not been able to grasp how Facebook works and simply did not trust Leif to teach him, the Norse God had not been able to enjoy the same way of communication with Jane. Steve Rogers, who was with the uncle-nephew duo, became rather interested in the concept of Facebook and was now sitting next to Leif, observing what the boy was doing and occasionally piping up questions about the site, which Leif answered, although sometimes untruthfully.

“Good evening gentlemen, we are back!” Tony Stark exclaimed grandly as he, Bruce and Pepper strode in through the front doors. The billionaire then stared at the trio in front of him with surprise. That’s odd. His house was not in its usual chaotic wreck with smoking, destroyed electronic devices like it had been since Leif had moved in. Everything seemed strangely calm… and quiet. Thor was simply sitting on the couch with a woebegone expression while Leif and the Captain were staring intently at the laptop the kid had blackmailed him for. This was all too good to be true and Tony pinched himself to make sure that he was not dreaming.

“Why are you so down, buddy?” Bruce asked the miserable looking Thor, sitting on the couch beside the god and giving him a good-natured pat on the shoulder. Thor simply gave a disgruntled grunt as an answer.

“Yeah, did that kid give you trouble again? He must have really traumatised you to make you stare at my blank television screen like a zombie.” Tony muttered and took the other seat next to Thor, shooting Leif a suspicious glance.

“As much as I enjoy taking credit for any trouble caused around here, I am deeply disappointed to inform you that it is not my fault this time.” Leif retorted with a smirk. “Jane Foster had visited us this morning and Uncle is simply depressed that she had left.”

“Oh Thor…” Pepper shot the god a rueful smile and Bruce patted him sympathetically on the back once more.

“Well don’t sit there looking like your mother just died or something… Cheer up big guy!” Tony chimed in jovially. “If you are bored I could take you around town someday and introduce you to a few of my…” Tony faltered at the killer glare he received from Pepper. “I mean… when I get another day off we could all take my private jet to Tromso to visit Jane.” The billionaire added hurriedly and gave Pepper a weak grin. Thor seemed to brighten up at Tony’s suggestion and was smiling again, his head filled with excitement about seeing Jan once more.

“I will go and see what Jarvis has in mind for dinner,” Pepper mumbled, shooting her guilty lover another glare before striding into the kitchen.

Observing the awkward silence that had taken over the room, Captain America meekly suggested watching a movie on television, something that Tony fervently agreed to. The billionaire turned on his television set and the four men were soon engrossed in watching the movie “Beowulf”, which by chance, was showing right now. Leif was too busy chatting with Darcy to care about the show but he managed to catch the occasional ‘interesting’ comments Thor made during the movie, which amused him greatly.

The Norse God had first commented about how this King Hrothgar bore a striking resemblance to his own father, Odin and then cheered Beowulf on excitedly while the hero fought Grendel, much to Tony’s irritation. When they reached the part of the movie where Grendel’s mother tried to seduce Beowulf, the god had jumped off the couch in rage and started to move towards the television screen, startling a horrified Tony.

“What are you doing, Thor?” Tony exclaimed, hastily pulling the god back by his arm in fear that his friend will destroy his favourite television.

“That fool is being tricked by the witch’s seeming beauty and lies. We must stop him from giving in to his lust and placing the kingdom in peril.” Thor replied gruffly while the other three men stared at him incredulously.

“Thor, this is a movie. It’s not real and you can’t do anything to change it.” Bruce finally explained to the surprised God of Thunder.

“Isn’t this a magical portal that shows you the happenings in the other worlds and dimensions?” A befuddled Thor asked while Tony face palmed.

“No, it isn’t.” Tony replied wearily and shot Leif, who had given a tiny snigger, a nasty look. “And I don’t even want to know where you got that ridiculous idea from.”

“So those cute and colourful ponies we had seen on the magical screen in the past few days don’t exist?” Thor mumbled sadly. He had gotten rather fond of Rainbow Dash while watching My Little Ponies, something Leif had gleefully introduced him to.

“Umm I don’t think so?” Bruce gave a nervous laugh. He could see that Tony is starting to get aggravated by this conversation and that was not a good sign. “So… we haven’t heard from Natasha and Clint in the past few days,” The scientist hurriedly changed the topic. “Where do you think they could be?”

“The last thing I heard from them is that they were on a new mission for S.H.I.E.L.D,” Steve replied helpfully. “It must be a really tough one, considering how they had been gone for so long.” Tony gave a cynical snort at the super soldier’s words.

“Tough mission? Knowing Clint and Natasha, they have probably finished their so-called mission ages ago and are enjoying their honeymoon now.” Tony muttered spitefully. “You know, gone on a trip or holiday to some faraway place. Somewhere cool.” Tony finished unhappily while Thor looked surprised by his statement.

“But why wouldn’t they return if they had finished their mission?” The god asked innocently while Bruce gave a tiny wry smile and Steve shrugged, decidedly returning his attention to the movie. Tony gave another sceptical laugh.

“Oh I don’t know Thor. Maybe it’s because they value their sanity more than we do?” The billionaire snapped and shot Leif another nasty glare which the boy blatantly ignored.

Leif smirked to himself and returned his gaze to his laptop screen, clicking on the new notification he had just received seconds ago on Facebook.

**_Darcy Lewis added a photo of you._ **

Leif clicked and grinned as he stared at the photo of Darcy and him beaming side by side at the camera while the spirited girl made a peace sign.

_Now this looks cute…_

Leif hovered the mouse over the Like button and clicked.

**_Leif Matthews Lokison likes this._ **


	17. Setting off the Spark

Justin Hammer gaped in horror at the two ice statues.

Earlier that morning, Justin had arrived at the Hammer Tech building and headed for his office as usual. Along the way, the man could not help but notice that the air surrounding him became increasingly colder and colder. Thinking that the air conditioning had been turned down too low, Justin merely shrugged it off and made a tiny mental note to order one of his workers to increase the temperature later. He had been planning some moves to make further progress with Thea Black and had swung his office door open, about to enter his office when he halted abruptly at the sight of the two frozen sculptures placed in the centre of the room.

 _What are these?_ Justin thought as he approached the two statues apprehensively. _Thea must have brought them and left them here… Are those two people in the ice real? They can’t possibly be real, can they?_

Despite the low temperature in the room, Justin felt a trickle of cold sweat falling from his forehead as he observed the two ice statues in alarm. When he gazed into the eyes of the man and the woman through the transparent ice, Justin Hammer suddenly felt ill in the stomach. He felt like he was about to throw up from the repugnance and fear coursing through his body.

The people frozen inside the ice are real! Justin knew that the looks of terror and helplessness trapped in their eyes can’t possibly come from a wax sculpture or statue. The man stumbled a few steps backwards from the two frozen rigid people. He could even hear their screams inside his head, begging for him to set them free.

“I see that you have found my trophies,” Justin heard Thea’s voice from behind him and spun around in panic. The woman was standing at the entrance of his office, along with that revolting deformed man, who is currently grinning nastily at the sight of Justin’s fear. “They are masterpieces, aren’t they?” Thea continued in a light, gleeful voice, smirking as she waved her hand towards her two frozen prisoners.

“Wha- Why? I… I… Who are they?” The words stumbled out of the petrified man’s mouth. Justin felt faint. He wanted to run, to escape. However, with Thea and Sterns blocking the door of his office, there was no other possible way for him to leave. It was early in the morning, and there were not many people in the building yet. Furthermore, Justin knew better than to call out for help; Thea could have frozen him into an ice cube just like she had done with the two unlucky people behind him. Justin’s stomach clenched at that thought.

“Our enemies, Hammer. Friends of Stark.” Thea replied simply, with a sweet and venomous smile on her face.

“Friends of Tony Stark?” Justin repeated incredulously, turning around and staring at the two frozen people once more.

“Yes, Hammer. And I thought that you would be pleased at this piece of news.” Thea drawled lazily as Justin turned back to her with a terrified expression. The man certainly did not seem pleased at all. “You had wanted revenge on Tony Stark, haven’t you? Well, now I have captured two of his friends and it won’t be long before the great Iron Man is here to join them. In fact, I am confident that every single member of that irksome group… what do they call themselves again? Ah, the Avengers,” Thea grinned wickedly. “I am confident the Avengers will soon be at my mercy. Well, our mercy, if you like.” The woman added nonchalantly while Justin’s eyes widened in horror.

Justin had not bargained for this. Of course, the defence contractor had wanted to bring down Stark to boost his own company. He had also, in the past, imagined slow and even torturous deaths for his hated enemy and that lover of Stark’s. However, despite all these spiteful thoughts, Justin would never dream of killing Tony Stark or anyone else related to the man in real life. Justin Hammer was a petty man, but not an evil one. Besides, he had heard of the Avengers. They were a group of heroes with extraordinary powers who had even managed to counter and win the war with the invading alien army months ago. Justin was certainly not foolish enough to cross them.

“No… you… you can’t do this!” Justin stammered while Thea’s eyes started flashing dangerously. “I want no part of this! Let them go now! Our deal was only to pool our resources and create weapons that would help my compa-” The man’s words were cut off as Thea gave a cold laugh.

“Let them go?” Thea repeated in a mocking voice. “Are you really that stupid, Hammer? And what happens after that? Let these two cretins assemble the Avengers and foil our plans? Really now, you must be joking.” Thea smirked as Justin simply gaped even more. Sterns on the other hand, was sniggering elatedly to himself. The scientist had found Justin’s discomfort and shock extremely amusing.

“I… I…” Justin stuttered once more and his eyes flicked back to the two captives frozen in the block of ice. He shuddered to think about how it would be like to be trapped, rigid and cold. It would be like that time he was detained in jail… only a lot worse. _Jail!_ Justin jolted up at this thought. If he continued with Thea’s plans he would most likely end up in prison again. This woman will kill those people she had trapped in the ice, Justin knew that. He had to get out of this freak show, before things gets any worse.

“Well, I don’t want to be part of this anymore,” Justin said as he looked back at Thea with all the courage he could muster. There was an evil glint in the woman’s eyes when she heard his words. “The Casket, whatever it is… I refuse to participate in the project further…” Justin said determinedly as he straightened his suit in an attempt to look dignified. “I refuse to kill… or take on these Avengers with you. You can leave and take the Casket with you… take these two… ice blocks with you. And I will pretend that nothing has ever happened. I can assure you of that.” The man added hastily. 

 _Cowardice!_ Loki thought maliciously. _Looks like I have no other choice… Hammer needs a little persuasion…_

“Leave?” Thea Black sneered as she stepped threateningly closer towards Justin, who immediately lost all of his pretend bravado due to his fear of this dangerous woman. The man found himself backing into the two ice sculptures behind and the cold aura of the ice along with his terror of what will happen next caused a chilling shiver to run down his spine.

“I am afraid I have come too far for that, Hammer.” Without further warning, Thea Black shape shifted into a tall, black haired man whose cold green eyes glared piercingly into Justin’s. Justin Hammer gave a shriek of shock and cowered backwards closer to the two ice statues as the strange man glowered over him.

“You are… you are a man?” Justin blubbered out in disbelief as Loki smirked at his victim’s fear.

“Yes, I am Loki,” Loki grinned evilly as Sterns erupted into a peal of laughter behind the god. Justin felt as though he would black out on the spot. “And just in case you don’t know, I was the one who had led the Chitauri in the attack against New York a few months ago.” The God of Mischief continued simply while the terrified Justin cowered down even more. “I believe that you should know by now that I am not a merciful god, Hammer, especially to those who oppose me. I am sure you won’t want to end up like them?” Loki smirked as he gestured towards the two frozen statues once more and Justin gave another tiny whimper.

“What do you want from me?” The intimidated man whispered. 

“What do I want from you, Hammer?” Loki gave another wicked grin as his emerald coloured eyes flashed menacingly. “I want obedience.”

XXX

Nick Fury grimly placed a S.H.I.E.L.D badge which was covered with dried blood on the tea table.

“We just received this badge earlier this morning. It belongs to Clint Barton.” The one eyed director explained gravely to Steve Rogers and Thor, who were both sitting on the circular couch in Tony’s living room.

Nick Fury had arrived at the Stark Mansion in the early afternoon, claiming that he had to speak with the Captain and Thor regarding urgent matters. Apparently the flustered director had tried to contact Tony at first but the billionaire had learnt his lesson regarding security breaches and had heightened security measures in his office such that Fury had been unable to enter or force entry. Thus, Fury had to go for the next option, to seek out the other two Avengers in Tony Stark’s house, which had also been security enhanced. After arguing for close to an hour with Jarvis, the furious Fury was finally able to enter the Stark Mansion after Thor helped and managed to convince the mechanical butler to allow the man in with his trusty Mjolnir.

Therefore, Nick Fury was now sitting on the circular couch along with Steve Rogers and Thor, relieved that he could actually contact any of the Avengers during this time of emergency, all thanks to Stark. Leif had shrugged and surprisingly, cooperatively left the room when Nick announced that this was a confidential S.H.I.E.L.D matter, leaving the three men alone to talk. Therefore, Nick did not waste any more time on trivialities and delved straight into the matter.

Captain America picked up the badge gingerly to gain a better observation of it while Thor eyed the dried blood on the item quietly.

“The blood-” Steve started but paused mid-sentence, dreading the answer. Clint Barton was a team mate. A friend.

“It’s not Barton’s.” Nick replied, much to Steve and Thor’s relief. Thor even managed a weak smile at the answer. “We have run DNA tests on the dried blood and confirmed that it does not belong to either Clint or Natasha. However,” Nick continued solemnly, “we do not know for certain if the two of them are still alive.” Steve nodded grimly at the Director’s words and Thor’s smile faltered.

“Clint and Natasha had not responded to any messages from S.H.I.E.L.D since last night. There were also no reports from either of them regarding their mission yesterday. In other words, we have had no contact with both agents since last night, which is an extremely uncommon thing. Even if Natasha may have a slight disregard for orders, Clint had always been very responsible.” Fury explained seriously.

“And this morning, we received this,” The man pointed to the bloodied badge that Steve was holding. “We suspect that this is a warning, or rather, a provocation. Clint and Natasha may have been captured, and the perpetrator means to lure us in with Clint’s badge. The S.H.I.E.L.D badges contain tracking devices in case of emergencies, and we had run some scans across the globe for Natasha’s. It is currently located in some remote place in Tibet, miles away from where they were supposed to be in Russia.” Fury finished infuriatedly, glaring down at the tea table while Steve and Thor remained silent. They knew the reason for Nick’s frustration. Someone is playing games with them, and they knew who that person is.

“Loki is behind all of this,” Thor growled angrily. “I will go and apprehend him this instant!” The god stood up immediately and Steve hastily reached out to stop him.

“Wait, Thor! We are all anxious about Clint and Natasha’s safety, but we can’t just rush into the situation without a plan. We all know that this is one of Loki’s traps.” The super soldier reasoned calmly but Thor’s impulsive nature made it hard for the god to listen.

“We can’t afford to wait any longer!” Thor exclaimed furiously. “For every single second we hesitate, Clint and Natasha’s lives will be in peril! They are our friends, Steve!” Captain America’s heart dropped at the god’s words and he turned his attention to Fury, unsure of what to do.

“It’s your decision Captain,” Fury replied grimly. “Tony and Bruce can’t be contacted at the moment and ordinary agents are no match for Loki. Only you and Thor can stop him now.” Steve Rogers considered his options for a moment and his fist tightened around Clint’s badge.

 _Thor is right_ , the Captain thought determinedly to himself. _Clint and Natasha **are** our friends._

XXX

Leif stifled a bored yawn and gazed around the empty living room.

His uncle and Captain America had told him that they needed to see to an urgent matter after Nick Fury had left and the ‘important S.H.I.E.L.D matter’ meeting was over. Before they rushed out of the house, Thor had repeatedly made the boy promise to be good and even swear on his honour that he would not create any trouble. Leif gave a tiny snicker at this thought. As if Leif cared about honour!

Therefore, the Stark Mansion is now empty and Leif was bored to tears without his uncle or the naïve Captain to keep him company. Leif did not like the silence in the house. It was too peaceful, too quiet and he craved some excitement. He had considered logging onto Facebook to see if Darcy was online for a chat but decided against it in the end. Darcy was fun to talk to, and the girl had surprised him during their conversations with her feisty and sassy nature. However, Leif knew that she would probably be working right now and decided that it would be unwise to bother her. Besides, it is never too good to let a girl know that you are interested in her… Even now, Darcy can be a bit too much for him to handle.

Leif gave another weary sigh. What did he do for entertainment back in the past before he had known about his true parentage and met the Avengers? The boy recounted about his previous basketball games with Oliver and little chats with Eleanor. That’s right, his parents kept him company. And he had not seen them for months.

After considering for a moment, Leif decided that he would spend his precious day alone on a visit to his adoptive parents’ house. He was sure that they would have missed him as much as he had missed them and will be thrilled to see him again. Leif gave a tiny grin at this thought as he walked over and reached for the metal knob on the front door. However, instead of turning like all good door knobs should, the knob of Tony Stark’s front door would not budge. Leif frowned and tried again, but it was no use. The door remained locked.

“You are not authorised to leave the mansion, Mr Lokison.” Jarvis’s mechanical voice piped up, much to Leif’s annoyance.

“But I was able to leave the other day, remember? I could go out when Jane and Darcy visited us.” Leif pointed out calmly. Obviously Tony Stark needed to tweak up his mechanical butler’s intelligence.

“That was because Mr Thor Odinson was accompanying you, Mr Lokison. You are not authorised to leave this house alone.” Jarvis replied simply. Leif glared around the room in frustration, not knowing where to concentrate his displeasure on since the voice seemed to have echoed from around the room. Then the boy smirked to himself.

_Well then, it looks like I will have to try a few tricks to get out._

Leif closed his eyes and concentrated, creating another half dozen copies of himself. Perhaps Tony’s computer would be confused and Leif could sneak out that way.

“It won’t work, Mr Lokison.” Jarvis said matter-of-factly.

“What?” Leif asked incredulously, stunned that Jarvis had caught up with his intentions so quickly.

“Mr Stark has programmed me to be able to identity between your real person and your illusions. Your duplicates will not be able to fool my sensors, I know very well which is the real you.” Jarvis replied coolly. “In addition, the front door and walls of the Stark Mansion has been enhanced such that they will be able to withstand your energy projections and blasts. Therefore, may I suggest that you do not waste your time by trying to escape, Sir?”

Leif glared in bemusement around the room once more and dismissed his illusions with a snap of his fingers. So Stark had managed to programme Jarvis to become immune to his tricks, has he? Well, Leif wasn’t going to give up that easily. It will take more than a mechanical butler to stop him.

_You may have artificial intelligence, but you don’t have real intelligence._

“So Mr Stark had told you to keep me locked up no matter what happens?” Leif asked casually, gazing around the room.

“Yes.” The reply was short and sweet.

“No matter what trick I employ?”

“Yes.” Another nice and short answer.

“Even if I am in pain or dying?”

“If such a situation arises, I am under orders to inform Mr Stark as well as to call an ambulance for you, Mr Lokison. Besides, I believe you will not be in any shape to walk out of the front door by then.” Leif shot another dirty look around the room. Looks like Jarvis has inherited Stark’s smart mouth.

“So you will only open the doors when I am on the brink of death?” Leif continued probing.

“Yes Mr Lokison. My orders to lock you in will only be overridden in case of emergencies.” Jarvis replied simply. However, Leif perked up at the mechanical butler’s reply.

_Emergencies?_

“Pray tell, Jarvis. What constitutes as an emergency?” Leif asked with a sly grin on his face.

“It would be events whereby you have gravely injured yourself or in situations of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods for example. Household accidents such as fires that can potentially kill its inhabitants are also considered emergencies.” Jarvis replied unsuspectingly as Leif gave another smirk. Perfect, this was all he needed to know.

_So a simple fire can override Jarvis’s orders to keep the doors locked, huh?_

The boy grinned to himself as he looked around the room for a suitable target before setting his sights on Tony’s favourite television set.

_After all, fires won’t start by themselves when I am alone in Stark’s house, would they?_


	18. An Unlikely Partnership

Tony Stark leant back into his plushy [office chair](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/18/Son-of-Loki) and gave a long contented sigh.

He had just been through a long conference regarding issues about the Stark Industries and it had gone better than expected, at least, than what  _he_  had expected. Therefore, Tony was currently having a rare and well [deserved](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/18/Son-of-Loki) break from all the tedious work matters and the horrors in his own home. Pepper had left a minute ago to fetch him a nice savoury cup of coffee as well as some of those Dunkin’ Donuts he was partial to and now, the billionaire is simply relaxing in his office and enjoying the beautiful peace and quiet in this security enhanced refuge. It was a sanctuary that even S.H.I.E.L.D and Fury cannot intrude; Tony had made sure of that.

The billionaire was just thinking about how he would have to start planning more of these serene moments with Pepper when the sharp mechanical voice of Jarvis jolted him from his daydreams.

"Sir? I am afraid that I have some bad news." Jarvis's cool voice echoed around the room, bemusing the billionaire.

_Looks like I can never have a moment's peace._

"Yes, Jarv?" Tony asked wearily.

"Remember my earlier report of how Mr Rogers and Mr Odinson left for a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D and that Mr Lokison is alone in the Stark Mansion?" Jarvis asked and Tony gave a soft groan. How could he possibly forget? After all, leaving the boy alone in his house was like leaving a rowdy puppy alone with your brand new bedroom slippers.

"Well, it appears that a situation has popped up, Sir." The mechanical butler said calmly.

"Yes? Continue Jarv, and please tell me that whatever happened had prompted you to follow the instructions I have programmed and blast that kid out of existence." Tony mumbled unhappily as he rubbed his temples.

_That boy will be the death of me sooner or later._

"On the contrary, Sir, it was Mr Lokison who did the blasting." Jarvis replied.

_Oh God!_

"Mr Lokison had wanted to leave the Stark Mansion and I am regretful to inform you that I may have accidentally let slip that my orders to keep him locked in will only be overridden in times of emergencies, such as the breaking out of a fire." Tony listened to his butler's explanation with a sinking heart.

_Okay, keep calm. Keep calm. Things might not be as bad as they sound._

"Let's skip the rest of the description," Tony said hastily. "What are the damages?"

"Firstly, Mr Lokison managed to escape while all attention was focused on extinguishing the fire, Sir." Jarvis stated and Tony gave a scornful snort.

_THAT is Fury's problem. That boy can prowl the city all he liked, I wouldn't care less._

"Also, half of the living room is charred, Sir. On a brighter note, Dum-E and the others were able to put out the fire before it spread to other parts of the Mansion." Tony heaved a sigh of relief at Jarvis's words.

_Looks like things aren't as bad as I had-_

"I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences about your prized 3D television set, Sir." Jarvis continued simply.

_That. Little. Bastard._

XXX

Captain America and Thor landed on the grassy plain with a loud thud, scattering a flock of wild birds nearby. After recovering from his awe of how Thor's Mjolnir is a useful form of transportation, Steve took a quick scan of their surroundings. It was an isolated and flat piece of land, surrounded with steep mountains and cliffs. Just ahead of them, Steve could see a tiny hut, standing alone in the plain. That would obviously be where Loki is waiting for them, if Thor had brought them to the correct place.

"Are you sure we are in the right place, Thor?" Steve asked his companion as both of them started approaching the hut.

"Yes, my friend. This is the place Director Fury had specifically mentioned." Thor answered gruffly. When both men finally reached the hut, Steve Rogers gestured for Thor to cover him and promptly kicked the door open, charging into the tiny room with his shield positioned and ready for battle. However, regardless of what he had expected, the super soldier was certainly not ready for the sight that met his eyes in the dark hut.

Steve's eyes widened with shock at the sight of the stirring bloody body in the corner of the otherwise, empty hut. The body had a mop of flaming red hair, and it wasn't due to being stained by the blood that had pooled underneath it.

"Natasha!" Steve gasped and rushed over to his friend, forgetting that Loki might be hidden somewhere in the room. The Captain propped the Black Widow's body against his own and was relieved to find out that she was still breathing. Her breaths were weak, but at least she was not dead.

"Natasha, can you hear me? Natasha?" Steve shook his friend gently in an attempt to revive her and Thor took slow careful steps towards them, his eyes flashing with anger as he gazed at Natasha's limp body.

_This was all Loki's doing!_

"I… Captain!" Natasha opened her eyes gingerly and gave a low gasp when she found herself staring into the eyes of the super soldier. The assassin then turned her head painfully and stared at Thor, who gave her a tiny rueful smile.

"Thank goodness you are still with us, Nat!" Steve said in relief. "What happened? Where is Clint?" Natasha's eyes grew wide at the mention of Clint's name and she attempted to get up, only to fail and groan in pain due to her wounds. "Natasha! Calm down!" Steve said hurriedly as he tried to soothe his injured friend. "Tell us what happened. Loki is behind all of this, isn't he?" Natasha closed her eyes at the pain and nodded.

"Clint!" The assassin's eyes flew open once more and she cried out in panic. "Loki's got him! They just left not too long ago, but I don't know where!" Natasha shot both Steve and Thor pleading looks and the Norse God gave a furious growl.

"Take care of her, Steve. I will go after my brother at once." Thor said curtly as he turned and rushed out of the hut.

"Thor, wait!" Steve cried out but it was too late, the god had flown off using his Mjolnir before the Captain could stop him.

_You don't even know the direction Loki has headed off in…_

Steve shook his head at his friend's impulsiveness and helped Natasha to lean against the wall of the hut. The female assassin let out a moan as she rested her back on the cold stone wall and Steve glanced at her anxiously, hoping that her wounds weren't too serious. Just as the Captain was contemplating their next move and how to get Natasha medical attention as soon as possible, he suddenly caught a strange gleam in his friend's eyes and realised with a jolt that the woman's eyes seemed greener than usual. Before Steve could even react, he found himself being blasted backwards and slamming into the stone wall of the hut. As Steve recovered from his daze, he heard a male's cold, amused laughter and opened his eyes to see a grinning bloody Natasha transforming into a smirking Loki, decked in full armour.

"You!" Steve gave an enraged snarl which Loki returned with a snigger.

"Yes, me." The God of Mischief sneered. "It has been a long time, hasn't it, soldier? And I can see that Thor is still as impulsive and dumb as ever." Loki smiled and nodded towards the open doorway of the hut. Without another moment's hesitation, Steve Rogers grasped his shield firmly and flung it towards his enemy. Loki's reflexes, however, were fast and he managed to dodge the Captain's shield, which crashed into the stone wall behind the god and caused it to shatter as if it were made of glass.

Steve lurched forward and threw a fist at Loki's face, which the god managed to evade and return with a punch of his own. The two men, both with extraordinary strength and reflexes, exchanged blows for a few minutes, some of which met their targets while the others were avoided. After Steve Rogers was flung onto the ground on his back by Loki, the super soldier kicked out and hit his enemy dead centre in his stomach, causing the god to be thrown backwards by the sheer force and hurtling out of the hut through the hole in the stone wall created by Captain America's shield. Loki tumbled onto the grassy plain outside and clutched his stomach, gasping in pain.

After leaping onto his feet, Captain America charged towards Loki, bent on taking down his opponent before the god is able to compose himself again. However, just as Steve flung another punch in Loki's direction, the god whipped out a glowing blue Casket and aimed it at the super soldier. A freezing icy energy erupted from the Casket and Steve Rogers became trapped in a layer of ice, frozen mid-punch with his clenched fist just inches away from Loki's face.

Loki smirked at the frozen look of surprise in his enemy's eyes. Obviously, Captain America had not been expecting this.

"I wonder how it feels like to be back in ice once more," Loki whispered gloatingly as he continued staring through the transparent ice into Steve Rogers' face.

XXX

Thor flew over the mountains and cliffs, with the Mjolnir rotating like a helicopter propeller in front of him.

_I can't let Loki escape this time…_

The god glanced over the snowy white caps of the mountains, wondering where he should start in his search for his wayward brother. A part of him had started to wish that he hadn't been so rash in starting his pursuit for Loki. Perhaps it would have been wiser to ask Natasha if she had any clue as to where Loki would be heading to, although the woman is unlikely to remember anything more, especially in her condition. Thor's head filled with rage once more as he thought of how severely Loki had injured his friend. And Clint was still in his hands. Thor was determined to rescue Clint no matter the costs.

_Something is strange though…_

Thor paused for a moment and landed on a barren cliff as a sudden disturbing thought popped up in his mind. Something seems strange about this situation. Somehow, something is different from what Loki would usually do. Thor's forehead furrowed in concentration for a moment before he realised his mistake.

_Why would Loki leave Natasha behind?_

"Damn!" The God of Thunder cursed angrily to himself before taking off once more, rushing back to where he had left Steve minutes ago and hoping fervently that he wasn't too late.

After flying for a few more minutes, Thor finally reached the stretch of grassy plain. As the god hurried back to the hut with long, fast strides, he came to a sudden horrified halt when he saw his brother gleefully observing a frozen ice statue of his friend. Incensed, Thor gave a furious roar and charged towards Loki with his Mjolnir in his hand, meaning to beat the wayward god back to his senses. However, as Thor tackled the seemingly surprised Loki, he found himself hurtling through what was actually a flickering image of Loki.

 _Are you ever not going to fall for that?_ Loki's sneering voice echoed in Thor's head as he picked himself off the ground in frustration and turned around quickly to confront his brother. However, before he could even focus his sight on Loki, a sharp pain pierced through the god's right shoulder and Thor stumbled a few steps backwards, grunting in pain. Thor instinctively reached and pulled out a silver glittery dagger that was impaled into his shoulder blade. Loki's dagger.

"It's nice to see you again Thor," Loki's jeering voice sounded as the God of Mischief strode out from behind the frozen block of ice containing Steve. Thor glared at his smirking brother and threw the bloodied dagger on the ground in disgust.

"Stop this madness, Loki." Thor growled. "Let my friends go and return to Asgard with me." Loki simply grinned at his brother's words and shook his head in mock disbelief.

"Really now, I would have thought that even you would have gotten over trying to 'persuade' me. Don't you get tired of nagging all the time?" Loki mused and Thor gave another enraged snarl. The God of Thunder gripped the Mjolnir tightly and threw it with all his might towards his brother. However, instead of attempting to dodge the attack, Loki simply conjured up the Casket of Ancient Winters and blasted the Mjolnir with an icy projection of energy, causing the weapon to become coated with ice and land on the ground before the trickster with a loud 'thunk'.

Before Thor could even gape in astonishment at this turn of events, he was thrown backwards by an icy blast of energy. The god tried to get back on his feet and ignore the cold creeping through his veins but Loki was merciless, taking a few steps closer towards his brother and hitting Thor once more with another blast from the Casket.

"Not so mighty without your precious hammer, are you?" Loki sneered coldly as he glared at Thor's pain with satisfaction. As the God of Mischief stepped right before his brother with the Casket in hand, about to end this battle once and for all, Thor looked up at him with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Brother, please. Stop this evil while you still can…" However, Thor knew from the cold look in Loki's eyes that his brother was beyond any reason.

"I am not your brother." Loki replied quietly.

XXX

Leif returned to the Stark Mansion gleefully that evening. It had been a fun and rewarding day for the boy. After causing a minor explosion with Stark's television and sending Jarvis and some other robots into a panicked frenzy, Leif had casually walked out of the mansion by the front door and paid his parents a visit.

Needless to say, Oliver and Eleanor had been delighted to see their beloved son once more. After fussing over the boy, Eleanor had prepared a grand and scrumptious lunch consisting of all Leif's favourite food. Leif then spent the rest of the day at his old home, describing his experiences in Asgard and recounting his days in S.H.I.E.L.D to his parents, who were both interested and anxious to know how their son's life had been after he had left. Leif had thoroughly enjoyed his time with his parents as well as the undivided attention he received from them. When it was finally time to leave, he had assured both of them that he would return and visit whenever it was possible.

Thus the boy was now contented with his day and had happily, and brashly, stridden into the Stark Mansion when he stopped abruptly at the sight before him. A few robots were moving about and trying to patch up the charred and blackened living room or rather, what was left of it. Leif stepped aside as a robot wheeled through his path, carrying something that seemed like a can of paint while the other bots chipped away at the scorched part of the walls. Sitting in the middle of the circular couch ( _which was thankfully not incinerated_ ), was a black faced Tony, arms crossed and looking scarily like a furious dad who is waiting for his errant son. Beside the enraged billionaire sat a nervous Bruce Banner, who shot Leif a warning look as soon as the boy stepped into the room.

_Right… I forgot that I nearly burnt down Stark's house to escape._

In the uncomfortable silence that ensued, Leif wondered if he could actually sneak up the stairs back to his room. However, it was obvious that Tony Stark meant to unleash his full wrath unto the boy.

" _Where_  have you been?" Tony demanded testily and Leif flashed a weak grin at his interrogator.

"Um… outside? Definitely not in the Stark Mansion," Leif replied casually and immediately retreated a few steps back as the furious billionaire rose up from the couch and approached him menacingly. "Hey! No need to get so mad, I just went out for a coffee!" Leif added hastily, not liking the dangerous gleam in Tony's eyes.

"You blew up my living room." Tony pointed out heatedly as he glared at the uneasy boy.

"Well… I am sorry about that. I was watching The Poltergeist when I freaked out and blasted your television by accident." Leif gave the incredulous Tony another weak smile. "You know, that's the sucky part about watching horror movies in 3D." Tony Stark's face grew scarlet after listening to Leif's words and the normally fearless trouble-maker found himself taking a few more steps back in alarm.

"You little bastard! This is it!" Tony spat out in anger as he continued to take threatening steps towards the boy. "I swear I am going to tear you from limb to limb and chuck you back to-"

"Tony! Calm down!" Bruce hurriedly came to Leif's defences, earning himself a glare from the provoked billionaire.

"Banner, please do not interrupt me while I am yelling at the brat," Tony snapped at his friend in irritation before turning his attention back to Leif. "Now where was I? Right! I am going to tear you from limb to limb and chuck you back to Fury where he can have all the fun with-"

"Sir," Jarvis's cool mechanical voice piped up all of a sudden, stopping Tony's rant. The billionaire closed his eyes in frustration and gritted his teeth.

"I thought that I had made it clear I was not to be interrupted, Jarvis?" Tony muttered angrily.

"I am sorry Sir, but Director Fury is outside the mansion. He wishes to see you regarding some urgent matters, or so he had claimed."

"Fury?" Tony perked up at the sound of his current, most hated nemesis's name. "Wonderful! Impeccable timing! Send him in, Jarv. I want him to see the results of his excellent proposal." The man shot another dirty look at the sheepish boy. In a matter of seconds, a grim faced Fury strode into the living room.

"Stark, I-" Nick Fury started in annoyance but then halted abruptly at the sight of Tony's destroyed living room. The director then glanced over to Tony's raging face and Bruce's weak smile. "You never told me that you were going to renovate your house." The director simply shrugged and Tony almost choked in indignation. Leif on the other hand, was giving another light hearted snigger after listening to Fury's quip.

"Very funny, Director," Tony replied tartly. "This ( _Tony waved towards the burnt part of his living room_ ) is the result of your wretched proposal. I have had enough! I don't care if you don't have any other available buildings or if S.H.I.E.L.D only has a cottage in the woods left, I demand that you relocate this boy immediately!" Tony raged and glared at the bemused director. Fury stared at the furious billionaire and then at Leif, who was now wearing an amused smirk on his face.

"That will have to wait Stark," Fury shook his head and Tony seemed about to launch another verbal attack on the man. "I came today regarding something much more urgent. In fact, I believe you will find it extremely disturbing." Nick Fury grimly held out a S.H.I.E.L.D laptop which Tony grudgingly took.

"What is this? Another mission file?" Tony mumbled sourly as he tapped a few buttons and swiped his fingers across the screen, causing a hologram of a room to appear. Standing in the middle of the room, swearing a gloating smirk on his face, was Loki.

A stony silence overtook the whole of the Stark Mansion as everyone, except for Fury, stared at the screen in horror. Even the grin on Leif's face was wiped off as he stared in disbelief at the hologram of his father.

"Greetings, my friends," Loki drawled in his usual silky tones. "It has been a long time hasn't it? I have missed you all as well." The god smirked at his own little joke. "Since this is the first time in months that you have seen me, I have a little surprise for you." The camera view now turned and focused on four ice sculptures, each with their own prisoners.

"Jesus…" Leif heard Bruce mutter under his breath and the boy's eyes widened in shock as well at the sight of the ice statues.

_Uncle?_

Leif stared in disbelief at the sight of the normally strong and jovial Thor, now trapped and encased in a block of ice. Beside him was the athletic Captain America, who had sparred in friendly matches with the boy so many times in the past. The steady and dependable Clint Barton was also there, along with a usually proud and fiery Natasha Romanoff. All of them are now frozen and helpless.

After a slight pause, the camera returned back to Loki, who gave another wicked grin to his audience.

"Yes, I am sure you would be interested in my trophies. They are beautiful, aren't they?" Loki smirked and Leif saw Tony, who was in front of him, clench his fists. "I welcome anyone who is brave enough to come and claim these ice blocks. Send your Man in Iron. Dispatch that dull green beast. I will be anxiously waiting for them and I will be delighted to add two more trophies to my collection." Loki gave an evil snigger and Leif felt his insides turn cold.

_Damn, this can't possibly be happening._

"I am willing to make a tiny truce with you though," Loki continued coolly. "Return me my son ( _the gaze of the three men turned to Leif at this instant_ ) and in exchange I will give you one of these statues. A fair trade isn't it?" Loki grinned slyly.

"I am currently at the Hammer Tech building, yes Stark, your rival's building," the video Loki mocked as Tony gaped in surprise. "And I would suggest that you send your men here quickly. I am no patient man and I do get bored of my toys after a while. Unless you don't mind getting your friends back in pieces, it would be advisable not to make me wait." Loki gave another smirk before the hologram flickered and disappeared entirely.

After a moment of stunned silence, Tony turned and shot a confronting glare at Fury. Leif and Bruce's attention were also on the Director, anxious for an explanation to the disconcerting video they had just seen.

"That was sent to S.H.I.E.L.D an hour ago," Fury started gravely. "After scans and verifications, it is proven to be real, and not a scam that may have been sent by some prankster. It appears that Loki had been more active than we had thought and as you can see in the video, he has four of our men in his hands." Bruce rubbed his face wearily while Tony gave Fury another sceptical look.

"That doesn't tell us a lot," The billionaire frowned. "For instance, how did he manage to capture Clint and Natasha? And what was the mission that _you_  sent Thor and Steve on earlier this morning that led them straight into that psycho's hands?"

"We had suspected that he may have intercepted Clint and Natasha during their mission for S.H.I.E.L.D, although it is confirmed by now." Fury replied tiredly. "And this morning, we received a bloodied badge that belonged to Clint and I had asked Thor and the Captain to investigate into the matter."

"You sent Thor and the Captain?" Tony stared at Nick Fury in disbelief. "You should have known by now how Thor is like when it comes to matters regarding his brother! And the Captain? He may have lived up to his legend so far but you cannot deny that he has a sentimental streak that Loki would be too happy to exploit! How could you possibly just send the two of them alone into a battle with Loki? He is the God of Lies, if you haven't realised." Fury glared in indignation at the accusing billionaire.

"Well perhaps if you were contactable at all the entire day, I might have sent the genius Iron Man along with the two of them." Fury argued heatedly and Tony seemed about to throw back a witty retort when Bruce stood in firmly between the two men.

"Alright guys, that's enough," The scientist said firmly. "There is nothing we can do about the past. Our friends are in Loki's hands now and we have to do something besides arguing among ourselves."

Tony shot Nick Fury one last glare before letting out a disgruntled huff.

"I will go and get the suit ready," Tony muttered and gave Bruce a pat on the shoulder. "Sorry buddy, but I might have to work alone this time. I don't think that the Hulk is cut out for this one." Bruce gave a sad, knowing smile at Tony words.

"I understand," The scientist said ruefully. "I want to help our friends, but I don't think it will do them any good if the big guy _breaks the ice_ with anyone of them in it." Tony nodded grimly and gave Bruce's shoulder a comforting squeeze before turning to leave.

"I am going too." Leif said quietly and all three men stared at him in surprise. After all the commotion and arguments, they had even forgotten that the boy was in the room. There was another moment of silence before Fury spoke up.

"No." The Director said firmly. "I will not allow it." Leif's eyes flashed with anger as he glared at the one-eyed man.

"Why not?" The boy demanded resentfully. "I can help! My fath-" Leif paused for a second. "Loki wanted me, remember? He said so in that video!"

"We can't risk your safety to trade for one of our friends, Leif." Bruce reasoned kindly and Fury nodded in agreement.

"And besides, letting you into the mission will be too dangerous." Fury stated simply while Leif shot the man a dirty look. He knew exactly what the Director was trying to imply.

"I don't care what qualms you have about my character, Director." Leif retorted irritatedly. "But I insist on going along with Stark. Loki is my father. This is personal!" The boy glared defiantly at Nick Fury who merely shook his head once more.

"No. My decision is final." Fury repeated firmly and he turned to Tony before the boy could protest any further. "I will be waiting for your report, Stark. Good luck." With that, the Director turned and left the Stark Mansion, leaving behind a gloomy and grim atmosphere. Tony sighed and was about to go upstairs when Leif swiftly strode in front of him and blocked his path.

"Take me with you," Leif demanded stubbornly to an utterly infuriated Tony.

"Sorry, kid. But you heard the big guy, his words are the rules." Tony replied disdainfully.

"Oh? And since when had the great Tony Stark cared about the rules?" Leif retorted scornfully, eliciting a sharp glare from the billionaire.

"Do you really think that you can provoke me into taking you by-" Tony said with annoyance before being interrupted by the boy.

"I am not provoking you into taking me. I am threatening you." Leif said hotly. "If you don't bring me along, I can assure you that there will be no Stark Mansion left for you to return to… if you ever do return." Leif forced a nasty smirk onto his face and pointed to the charred walls of Tony's living room. "That is not the worst that I can do." Tony's eyes flashed with anger once more and Leif hastily continued before the man could rebuke him. "But… if you take me with you, your house will be safe. And I will be able to help you with Loki. After all, I believe that I know him a lot more than you do." Leif finished and gave both Tony and Bruce anxious looks, hoping that they would relent.

"You know what, Tony? I think the boy has a point. It will be better than going after Loki alone." Bruce said finally and Leif shot him a grateful smile. Tony considered for a while more before giving a reluctant sigh.

"Alright kid, do you have a suit? If you do, suit up."

XXX

Leif and Tony stood on the rooftop of a building, observing the Hammer Tech building from afar. It was dark by now, and they could see that most of the Hammer Tech employees were filing out of the building.

"Hammer makes his employees work till this ungodly hour?" Tony, who was decked in his Iron Man suit, muttered bemusedly to himself. "No wonder Hammer Tech's productivity level is so low. They have such poor employee benefits."

"So what's the plan?" Leif asked, standing next to the man. The boy was dressed in a simple T shirt and black slim fit jeans along with a black leather jacket; his definition of suiting up. Tony gave a cynical laugh.

"You should spend less time with Gramps. You are starting to sound like him." Tony mocked and Leif shot him a dirty look.

"So you are saying that we should just charge into the building Tony style and let Loki freeze us into blocks of ice?" Leif asked sceptically. "Well, he would freeze  _you_  into a block of ice, at least." The boy then sniggered at the thought as Tony glared at him.

"Oh I am sorry for forgetting that Loki wouldn't want his little puppet all frozen up, Frosty Junior." Tony retorted tartly and it was now Leif's turn to glare at the man. The two of them then averted their attention back to the Hammer Tech building and stood there quietly for a few more minutes before the Iron Man spoke up again out of irritation.

"So don't keep me guessing. What do you plan to do? Melt the ice or something?" Tony said in an annoyed tone before an idea hit him and a spark flashed in his eyes. "Melt the ice."

Tony Stark's eyes met Leif's and in an instant, he knew that the boy had caught on to his plan. Both of them knew exactly what they had to do, even without speaking of it.

"I will provide a distraction," Leif said quietly and Tony gave a grim nod. The Iron Man mask snapped down as both of them stared at the Hammer Tech building once more, and this time, they were prepared for battle.


	19. Confrontation

Loki grinned as he sat back and relaxed in Hammer's armchair, admiring the four sparkling ice trophies in the large round office.

_Such a picturesque sight…_

The God of Mischief knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Iron Man and Hulk came for these prizes, and he was looking forward to their arrival. Those two are easily his most hated members of the Avengers, after Thor of course, and Loki thoroughly enjoyed the thoughts of eternally trapping them in ice.

_Let them come._

Most of the Hammer Tech employees would have left the building by now and Loki knew that Stark and Banner would probably make their move soon. Of course, those two 'heroes' wouldn't want to hurt any innocent citizens would they? Loki had considered ordering Hammer to make some of his employees work overtime for his advantage, but the god later deduced that the dull green beast probably won't have the ability to distinguish between a mouse and an elephant anyway and decided against it. Those brainless twits will just get in the way, screaming and flailing about in the line of fire. Therefore, the building was now empty with the exception of Sterns, who is hidden in a room to continue on his project, Hammer, whom Loki refused to let out of his sight, and the god himself.

Loki smirked in anticipation of the coming battle and as if on cue, the intercom on the desk in front of the god crackled to life.

"Sir? Sir!" Hammer's panicked voice sounded over the device and Loki sniggered with amusement at how frightened the man was. The god continued to remain silent.

_Let Hammer terrify himself for a few more seconds._

"S…sir? Are you there? There has been an intrusion into the building!" Hammer cried out urgently over the system and Loki's grin spread even wider.

_Finally!_

"Yes, of course I am here, Hammer," Loki chuckled. "Where else would I be?"

"What- What should we do?" Justin asked desperately and Loki gave a tiny giggle. It was obvious that the man had never been through many of these situations. Poor him. Loki thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, you still have some of those metal drones built from your earlier project, don't you? Why don't you use them to confront our intruders?" Loki smirked as he listened to the sputters and stammers coming from Hammer's side. "And no 'buts' Hammer, this is an order." Loki knew of course that those useless contraptions of Hammer's would not even last a second with the Hulk or the Iron Man, but somehow placing his servant in such an agonising situation amused him. And who knows? Perhaps setting up petty obstacles for his enemies might mentally tire them out.

"I-I- I will get to it…"Hammer muttered resignedly. "Wait! Wha- NO!" The man's startled voice then boomed over the intercom, annoying Loki very much. "They got into our systems! Crap! Our communication system w-w-w-" The intercom sizzled out without another sound and Loki gave an exasperated sigh.

_And you wonder why Stark's technology is better received than yours, Hammer?_

Loki got up from the arm chair and strode casually over to his prisoners. He stood in front of Thor and gazed straight into the Norse God's clear, unblinking blue eyes.

"Your friends will be here to join you soon,  _dear brother."_  Loki hissed, the last two words leaving a bitter after taste in his mouth. As soon as the words left his mouth, there were some bangs and loud explosions outside and swift hurried footsteps approached the office. Loki smiled and turned to face his coming opponent.  _It must be the famous Man of Iron_ , Loki thought gleefully to himself.  _That beast can't possibly be so soft._

The door of the office fell forward with a loud 'BAM' and a figure stepped in through the smoke and debris. Loki frowned when he saw who it was. Not the Iron Man, but Leif with his hair slightly ruffled as a result of battle. The boy smirked when he saw his father's sceptical expression.

"And I thought you would be happy to see me," Leif grinned as he strode in daringly, as if the man standing before him had not just frozen four of his friends in ice. Loki regained his composure in just a second and flashed another smirk back at his son.

"Oh I am happy. Delighted, even. I simply didn't think that S.H.I.E.L.D would give you up so easily to me." Loki replied matter-of-factly and gazed at Leif, who had now taken a spot on the other side of the room, maintaining a safe distance from his father.

"They didn't give me up." Leif said quietly. "I came of my own accord."

"Oh? And what for? Have you finally came to your senses and decided to join me?" Loki mocked and smirked when he observed the hard look in Leif's eyes. "It appears not… So you have come to offer yourself in exchange for one of them?" Loki grinned and gestured towards the four frozen Avengers. "Well then, who will it be? Your precious uncle? Or your friend, the soldier? Not those two I believe," Loki pointed to Clint and Natasha. "I don't recall you having any close moments with them."

Leif glared at Loki in anger. For some reason he had a strong urge to lunge forward and start pounding the man straight away. However, that would not work. Loki would overpower him in a matter of seconds, and Leif had promised Tony time. He will need to get Loki to focus all his attention on him for that time.

_Right, I need to play it cool._

"Well, I am afraid I have not come for just one. I came for all of them," Leif smirked and folded his arms as a show of confidence, which seemed to amuse Loki.

"And I would have thought that your plan to do so would be much more polished than this." Loki chuckled. "Brazenly walking into the lion's den will get you nowhere, Leif."

"Well, considering the fact that I am the lion's cub, I didn't think that I have much to fear." Leif replied with a casual smile, earning himself another grin from his father. "I have also heard that walking into the lion's den will get you some unexpected benefits, I was hoping that it would be true."

"Over-confidence is the fall of many a warrior, my boy." Loki smirked as he pointed to Thor. "That, can be your biggest example. And besides, what makes you think that I would hesitate in turning you into a statue like your little friends if you continued to defy me?" Loki stepped forward, closing the gap between him and his son, making Leif increasingly uncomfortable. Looking at the glint in Loki's eyes, a moment of doubt and fear flicked through Leif's heart. However, he willed himself to keep calm, to stand his ground and to continue with the plan. After all, he knew his own father well, didn't he?

"Because I am your son," Leif said simply, forcing a tone of confidence into his voice even though he was shivering a little on the inside. "I know you better than that." It was now Loki's turn to be stunned for a moment and the god blinked in astonishment. Then, after getting over his son's audacity, Loki laughed in amusement and smiled at the boy once more.

"As my son, I believe that you would be smarter than to venture into this alone," Loki smirked as Leif stared back at the god defiantly. "So tell me, who else is with you?"

"Does it matter?" Leif replied with his own smirk and watched with satisfaction as the one on his father's face faltered. "I am the one you want, aren't I?"

Leif's hearted thumped wildly against his chest as he put on a display of nonchalance while Loki gazed at him unsmilingly, considering his son's words. The boy knew that Loki was not one to be deceived so easily and didn't know how much longer he could placate the god. He could only hope that Stark would hurry up with his share of the work.

_What is taking the genius so long anyway?_

XXX

Tony Stark blasted away another two of the clanking iron drones marching towards him. The Man of Iron gritted his teeth in irritation.  _This_  was getting extremely annoying! As part of the plan, that boy was supposed to distract Loki for some time while he infiltrated the Hammer tech building to search for the mechanical room and do some minor adjustments to the temperature in the building. It was supposed to be a snap. And Tony believed he could have accomplished it in five minutes flat if it weren't for these hordes of cannon fodder appearing in front of him and wasting his time.

"Jarvis, be a pet and do a quick scan of the building would you? Find the quickest route to the mechanical room that is not swamped with these metal zombies." Tony muttered as he punched another one of the mindless metal drones into a heap.

_I guess this may be a breakthrough for Hammer. At least his drones managed to annoy rather than collapse on the spot._

"Right away Sir," Jarvis replied and promptly flashed a map of the building in front of Tony, highlighting the shortest path to his destination. Tony followed the set route and thankfully found that the number of irritants on the way were significantly lower. As the Man of Iron made the final turn around the corner towards his targeted place, stepping over a couple of sparking metal bodies in the process, he found himself coming face to face with a most hilarious sight. Or at least, it was hilarious to Tony.

Justin Hammer was there standing, or rather cowering, behind six bigger sized metal drones and glaring hatefully at the Iron Man.

"Give up Stark!" The deluded man (or so Tony thought) declared shakily. "You will not go any further!" It took Tony all of his will power not to laugh out loud.

"Really Hammer?" Tony Stark asked with amusement. "And what is there to stop me? Your little tin cans? All fear the mighty Tin men!" Hammer sputtered with anger and indignation at his rival's mockery.

"Do not underestimate my drones, Stark!" The furious man growled and he waved his hands frantically at his drones. "Attack!"

The six drones charged towards the Iron Man, with their lasers out and aiming for their target. Tony had to admit, these six were larger than the previous ones. He dodged a couple of blasts fired his way and retaliated with two blasts from the palms of his suit. The blasts met their targets and the heads of the first two drones flew off their mechanical shoulders, causing the heavy body to sizzle and land into a heap on the ground.

"Nope. Looks like I estimated them just fine." Tony informed the stunned Hammer lightly. "Jarvis, take care of the rest would you? I am starting to get dreary of this." The billionaire muttered quietly.

"With pleasure, Sir." Jarvis replied and the screen in front of Tony's face showed some target rings which focused on the remaining four bots. Four tiny missiles popped out from the right shoulder of Tony's suit and flew straight at their targets. There was a tiny explosion and the Iron Man strode forwards, ignoring the shattered remains of the drones and gazed at the limp stirring body of Hammer, who appeared to be knocked out from the blast. The billionaire gave his rival a kick in the side and noted the satisfying thud and groan from the man as he did so. Then, he turned and blasted the door of the mechanical room off its hinges.

_Right, now I will just have to locate the central heating equipment and-_

The mask of the Iron Man snapped up as Tony Stark blinked and stared around at his surroundings in surprise.

_Now this was worse than I had expected._

Tony knew that this is the Hammer Tech building and how backward in technology his rival is. However, he would have thought that even Justin Hammer would be better than this.

_Hammer is still using last year's outdated technology?_

XXX

Loki stared at his son in bemusement for a moment. The boy was up to something, there was no doubt about it. But what is his plan?

Leif cleared his throat loudly for a moment, breaking the awkward silence that was now in the room.

"Well, I still don't understand why you are harbouring plans on taking over the Earth," The boy drawled while Loki gave an amused grin _._

_Looks like Leif is trying find a topic… He plans to stall me._

Loki decided that there would be no harm in playing along; perhaps he might even get his son to see from his point of view.

"Oh, I know you don't. You are just a child, you are still young. How could you possibly realise the glory and satisfaction of ruling, my son?" Loki smirked and Leif clenched his fists in irritation.

"Well, yes. I don't see that there would be any satisfaction in a dictatorship," Leif replied heatedly. "In fact, if I do take after you, I don't believe you would either. What fun would there be in becoming the absolute ruler of a world where there is total obedience? It would be boring. I prefer the world now with its daily mix of chaos and mischief, if you know what I mean." The boy glared at his father rebelliously while Loki chuckled at his son's words.

"You do take after me Leif," Loki smiled. "But you are still childish. Naïve. You have yet to see the world in all its full darkness and ugliness as I have. Mischief and chaos are what you and I had, in the past, craved. However, once you grow up, you will realise that there are more important matters that that." Loki grinned as he gazed into Leif's eyes, green meeting green. "After all, mischief is not the only thing you desire, do you?" Loki took another step forward and despite of himself, Leif retreated one step back, closer to the wall behind him.

"I can see it in your eyes, my son. And I have seen it in your past actions." Loki gave another snigger as Leif's eyes widened in shock. "Yes, I had been observing you more than you have thought. You should remember that you are the one who had wanted to sever ties, not me. I watched you as you hung around the Avengers. I observed as you went back to visit your adoptive parents. Even before all of this, I had caught occasional glimpses of you while you were in your school." Loki's eyes gleamed dangerously and Leif felt a chill run down his spine. And it had nothing to do with the cool temperature in the room.

"You seek acceptance from the people around you. You wish to receive recognition from others, even those as lost as the Avengers themselves. You desire love from the ones you deem close to you. But do you honestly think that they would give you that?" Loki smiled ruefully at Leif, who honestly couldn't even pretend to grin back. Loki had just pointed out his heart's deepest insecurity. Even though the boy had always put up an arrogant and mischievous front, there was always a part of him that had felt insecure.

"Of course they will! My parents loved me," Leif argued furiously although there was a slight doubt and uncertainty in his heart. He hated that. Leif knew that Loki was aware of this nagging feeling in his mind as well. He glared at his father as the god gave another condescending grin, shaking his head as he did so.

"Don't try to lie to yourself, my son. I had been through the same experiences as you. I know your dilemma," Loki gave a knowing smile as he stepped closer to Leif once more. This time, the boy didn't move. "You spent most of your life so far, trying to live up to the expectations of the ones you love and the people around you, but what do you get in return? Love? Acknowledgment? No, you get nothing. Everything is a lie… a fraud. They claim to love you on the outside, but will they continue to do so once they know what you truly are?" Loki's eyes now flashed with rage, a deep unspoken hatred that he had kept inside of him. "Will they still accept you if they know about the monster you really are?"

Leif kept quiet. There was a part of him that wanted to shout back at Loki. To tell the god that he was wrong. However, there was another eerie voice inside that suggested that maybe his father was right. Maybe, Loki really knew how he felt.

"Remember how those Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D had sent you off to Asgard once they realised your real identity?" Loki reminded the boy and Leif recalled the memory with a pang of pain. "They rejected you, simply because you were my son. And remember how you were banished from Asgard as well and sent back disgracefully to Earth? Did they really treat you as one of their own, despite all the talk they had made?" Loki said quietly and Leif's heart became increasingly filled with doubt at every additional word.

_Did they?_

"You had never fitted in, no matter how hard you had tried. Even now, I believe that you would know that the Avengers consider you a burden that they would gladly toss from their backs." Loki continued simply. "Why do you continue to put yourself under all this pressure? I had once been as foolish as you. I had once thought that if I tried hard enough, I would be able to fit in. But I was wrong." The God of Mischief admitted angrily to himself and gazed at his son sadly.

"And your adoptive parents… you think they love you," Loki said with an amused smile as Leif flared up at this sentence.

"I know they do!" Leif retorted back furiously. Perhaps the Avengers did not want him. Perhaps the entire world would hate him. But Oliver and Eleanor would never turn their backs on him… would they?

"They do now," Loki smirked. "However, would they still continue doing so after seeing you in your true form?" Leif's heart sank as he thought of his own Frost Giant appearance. He wasn't so sure of the answer himself. To say with certainty that they will would be a lie, and his father would see through it at once. Loki is the God of Lies.

"Leave behind these child-like desires, my son. Stop chasing after something that may have never existed." Loki said firmly. "Join me at my side, where you truly belong. Together, we will carve out a place in this world for ourselves. We will make the others acknowledge our worth. We will create a world where we can finally belong." Loki gazed at Leif warmly. "After all, that's what the both of us had always wanted, isn't it?"

Leif stared back into his father's eyes. A world where he could really belong? A place where he would not be an outcast? Leif's heart leapt at the thought. Perhaps Loki was right. Perhaps Leif should stop pursuing after his pointless childlike fantasies and start forging a place for himself in this world, just like Loki is trying to do. The hardness in Leif's eyes softened as he stared back into Loki's. The god was his real father, after all. If anyone in the world would really accept him, it would be Loki, despite all that the man had done in the past.

_Who else would want me after knowing the freak that I am, anyway?_

Leif was tempted to say yes. To agree to returning to Loki's side once more. However, his attention was suddenly caught by the pair of sad, electric blue eyes behind his father. A pair of eyes belonging to one of the few people who had always known what Leif was, and had never left him despite of that.

_Was domination and power what I wanted? Or was it something else?_

Leif's mind jolted out of his trance at the sight of Thor, abruptly remembering why he was in this room in the first place. The boy also noticed trickles of water dripping down the frozen statues of ice and realised all of a sudden that the temperature of the room had gone up significantly. It just happened that both he and Loki had been too engrossed in their conversation to notice it.

_Stark's done it!_

Leif hastily pushed all the nagging doubts and insecurities in his head away. That would have to wait. The boy knew that he would still need to drag out some more time for the statues to melt to a more manageable state. He would address his own personal issues in the future.

"You may be right about what the others think," Leif replied quietly. "But I believe that you are wrong in your methods to get what you want. World domination will only give you acknowledgement by fear, not acceptance and love." Loki gave a cynical snort at his son's words, obviously exasperated by how Leif is not complying with his persuasions.

"Love? We don't need it Leif, we-" Loki snapped infuriatedly before being cut off by the boy.

"I need it." Leif retorted stubbornly. "And I believe that you desire it too, regardless of how you claim otherwise. After hearing all of Thor's recounts about you, I can safely say that all you had done in the past was to gain Odin's love and recognition, wasn't-" Before Leif could even complete his sentence, he found himself being slammed backwards and pressed against the wall behind him by an enraged Loki.

"I have said it once," Loki snarled menacingly. "And I will say it again: Do not mention Odin's name to me! I will not-" The god continued angrily but was then surprised by a bead of perspiration that dropped from his forehead. After being stunned for a moment, Loki realised with a jolt that the room was now hellishly hot. In fact, it was sweltering. With his arms still pressed against his son, Loki turned his head and stared in horror at the four melting ice blocks, all of which had visible cracks forming across the surface now.

_So this was the kid's plan all along?_

"Wha-" Loki turned and stared at Leif in disbelief while the boy shot back a weak grin.

"Yeah, it's getting kind of warm in here, isn't it?" Leif replied lamely and Loki gave another furious snarl. Ignoring the melting ice statues behind, the god grabbed the front of his son's shirt and flung the boy violently across the room. Leif slammed against the wall forcefully and landed painfully onto the ground, winded by the blow.

"You. Little. Brat." Loki spat out viciously as he took slow menacing steps towards Leif, who was gasping for air and struggling to get up. "How dare you!" The god was about to strike the boy once more when a loud roar and shattering sound of the ice took him by surprise. An incensed Thor charged out of his icy prison towards his brother and slammed the God of Mischief onto the ground, pinning him down.

"You will not hurt the boy, Loki!" Thor growled ferociously and Loki managed to flash back a weak grin.

"I believe you have forgotten that the boy is my son, Thor? So a father isn't allowed to discipline his child nowadays anymore?" Loki sneered at the Thunder God's furious expression. "Besides, I wouldn't over exert myself, if I were you. Those muscles might need a bit more time to  _warm up_ , you know?" Thor glared at his smirking brother, knowing that the trickster was right. He was still weak from his previous ordeal and whatever energy he had used to break out and protect Leif was now causing a huge strain on his body.

Loki took advantage of Thor's slight pause to throw the god off him, causing Thor to land painfully on the ground. The God of Mischief fished out a silvery dagger and was about to stab his brother when a sudden energy projection blasted him away from the Thunder God. Loki picked himself up from the ground and glared at Leif, who was panting but had his palm trained on his father.

_Looks like the boy is determined to protect his uncle after all._

Loki's attention then turned to the three other ice sculptures which shattered and released their prisoners. Captain America stumbled out and struggled to maintain his footing while Hawkeye and Natasha, who had been in ice for a longer period of time, simply fell onto the ground with exhaustion. The God of Lies considered taking down his enemies once more in their weakened state but decided against it when a loud and annoying music blasted through the room, announcing the arrival of someone he particularly disliked. The Iron Man flew in through the window of the office, shattering the glass as he did so and landed in front of Loki.

"So, did you miss me?" Tony Stark asked sarcastically and fired a blast from his palm at Loki. The god dodged the attack and flashed back an evil smirk. It wouldn't do to stage the final battle here, Loki decided. It was too warm for his liking (Frost Giant blood) and the final weapon of his plan was still not completed yet.

"I would love to stay and chat, Stark," Loki sneered. "But I believe that you will need to pay some attention to your friends." The god grinned at the expressionless mask, knowing that Tony is likely to be seething inside. "And Leif," Loki then turned coldly to his son, who had managed to stand up, using the wall as a form of support. "This is not over yet, remember that." With these words, the god teleported away, causing the Iron Man to step forward in alarm.

 _Damn it. That bastard fled._  Tony thought angrily to himself as he wondered if he should give chase. However, looking around at his wounded team mates, the billionaire decided that it would be best not to, given the current circumstances. Everyone here, except for Tony himself, needed immediate medical attention.

XXX

"You let the boy into the mission even though I have expressively forbidden it?" Fury stared incredulously at Tony, who was smirking gleefully at him.

"Hey, don't pin all the blame on me, Bruce approved of it. Besides, the boy did help in the rescue." Tony grinned and Bruce, who was sitting next to the egocentric man, gave Director Fury a sheepish smile when the one eyed man glared at him in disbelief.

Fury gave an exasperated sigh and leant back onto his chair. Fine, so Tony was right about Leif being able to help. All four of the other Avengers, as well as the boy himself, were receiving extensive medical care at the moment. The best that S.H.I.E.L.D could provide. Fury supposed that he should be thankful for getting back all of his response team in one piece and decided that it would be best not to press charges over the blatant defiance of his orders at the moment.

"So Loki escaped again?" Fury asked Tony wearily. Right now, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, the only two Avengers left that were healthy enough, were in his office to report about the case.

"Well, regrettably yes." Tony replied, not sounding regrettable at all. "On the brighter side, his accomplice Hammer has been apprehended. And we were able to extract from him that Loki had been planning to build some sort of weapon with the Casket of Ancient Winters. Apparently there is also another weird, deformed man who is helping him, although we don't know who he is. Loki, the weirdo and the Casket has disappeared from the building. We can't find them anywhere." Fury closed his eyes in frustration.

_Great, so now Loki is at large with a potentially dangerous weapon._

"Taking into consideration what Thor has told us about the Casket, it has the power to release the energy of a thousand winters. If that is the case, Loki might be planning to create a machine that can unleash this full power, meaning that he would be able to freeze the entire Earth if he is successful." Bruce reasonably deduced, making Fury's heart sink deeper.

"Well, the Earth is suffering from global warming now, isn't it? Maybe a little ice could help to cool her down." Tony joked lightly. "You know, like ice packs and fevers." Fury shot him a heated glare that pointedly meant this-is-not-the-time-for-a-lame-joke while Bruce stared at his friend exasperatedly.

"Come on guys, look on the bright side," Tony exclaimed when he saw the looks on Bruce and Fury's faces. "Loki stole  _Hammer technology_. Out of all the possible choices of equipment and machinery he could have taken, he chose  _Hammer's_! That idiot is digging his own grave; we have nothing to worry about!" The billionaire grinned and slapped a bemused Bruce on the back.


	20. Inner Demons

Loki slammed his fist onto the worn-out wooden table in anger.

_This wasn’t supposed to happen! Leif shouldn’t be working with the Avengers against me!_

After fleeing the scene in the Hammer Tech building, Loki had taken a moment to grab Sterns, as well as the machine and addition equipment he needed, before teleporting them off to a safe and abandoned little cottage in one of the rural areas in Pakistan. He had not bothered about Hammer; that man was useless anyway. Therefore, the mad scientist was now in the living room of the cottage, fidgeting and twiddling about with the machine parts gleefully while Loki retreated to one of the dusty bedrooms to lament about his foiled plans.

_Everything was wrong!_

If the situation had gone as Loki had planned, Leif should be by his side now and all of the Avengers would have been in ice. Instead, his four captives have thawed out and Leif had wrenched himself from his father’s grasp, running off to join his _friends_. Loki groaned at the thought of his son being chummy with all of the god’s hated enemies. Why is the boy so aggravatingly obstinate?

 _I wonder how Thor managed to brainwash Leif to this extent…_ Loki thought grumpily to himself as he sulked and glared at nothing in particular.

It appears that Leif was right about him in the past. Loki is prone to making miscalculations in his plans. And this time, that miscalculation had been Leif. The boy had managed to trick the trickster god himself. How utterly ironic.

Loki glumly wondered why his persuasions had failed with the boy. He knew that his son had been through similar experiences as him. Leif should understand the pains of being an outcast. The boy should understand the agony of desperately crawling to meet others’ expectations only to be let down in the end. Loki saw the sadness and doubt in his son’s eyes during their conversation. The god knew that Leif had understood what he had meant. What had compelled the boy then, to continue working against him instead of siding with him against this corrupted, twisted world?

_What you are doing will only gain you acknowledgement by fear, not love…_

Loki gave a scornful laugh when he remembered his son’s words. _Love._ Loki despised the very thought. The god never understood why it had been something others could receive so easily while he had to struggle and fight for in the past.

 _Must be because of my Frost Giant parentage,_ Loki thought bitterly to himself. _It must be because I am a monster._

Loki remembered how he had always longed for attention and love from the people around him before. Since young, Loki had struggled not to fall behind his brother. He had fought for any opportunity to show his eagerness about being a proper prince of Asgard to his father and the others around him. However, he had always been left behind.

Years ago, when he was still a boy and Odin had brought both him and Thor into the Weapons’ Vault, Loki had listened with a sinking heart while his father declared that only one of them could ascend to the throne. Somehow, even at such a young age, Loki had guessed that it would not be him. Somehow…

Loki closed his eyes at the pain of the memory. What followed in the thousands of years to come had been an excruciating struggle for the second prince; to prove that he was a worthy son to his father and that he could be Thor’s equal. The God of Mischief’s stomach turned when he remembered the day of Thor’s crowning to be King. It was supposed to be a glorious day for his brother; never for him. Not even a single pair of eyes would have noticed him that day.

And in the flurry of events to follow, Loki had tried his best to gain Odin’s recognition. It was all he had wanted. He had never wanted the throne; Loki could still remember telling Thor that. The god had merely wanted others to see him as someone that is as capable as Thor, as a true Prince of Asgard, as a son of Odin. He wanted others to know him as himself, not as _the brother_ of Thor. To do that he had even been prepared to destroy his own race. But Loki had failed. Pathetically. Even when he was dangling off the edge of the destroyed Bifrost, Loki had begged his father for some form of recognition, for some consolation that what he had done was not in vain. However, Odin had simply dismissed all his efforts with a single word: No.

Loki’s fists clenched and whitened as the god recalled that particular moment. The old Loki died the second that word left his father’s mouth. When he had released his grip on the handle of the spear, Loki was prepared to fade out of existence. However, fate was unkind to the god’s wishes and he lived, continuing to roam the other realms in exile. During this period of time, Loki learnt a lot.

Loki smiled to himself spitefully as he considered his new plan now. The god will no longer seek for something as foolish and volatile as love. No, he will fight for something more realistic, something easier to control. Loki will aim for power. He would no longer ask for others to recognise his worth; he will _make_ them recognise his worth. Loki grinned at the thought.

 _As for Leif_ , Loki thought carefully to himself. _The boy is simply deluded and naïve at the moment._ Loki decided that he would claim the Earth as his own first and continue to persuade his son to return to his side after that. There will be a lot of time after his goal is completed. Furthermore, after Midgard has fallen, the boy would have no choice but to cave in eventually. Loki smirked to himself once more.

_Now I will have to address a few more pressing issues._

Loki frowned. He had originally planned to incapacitate the entire Avengers team to make it more convenient for him to take over the planet. However, due to Leif, this step of his scheme would not work anymore. Loki will need to proceed to his backup plan. The god gave a weary sigh.

And it was backup plan he had hoped he would never have to use.

XXX

It has been three days since the Loki encounter and the Stark Mansion was strangely peaceful. And quiet. Considering how all of the Avengers and Leif had recovered enough to move back into Tony’s house, this was an extremely bizarre phenomenon.

Ever since he met his father again, Leif had not been his usual self. Thor was the first to notice it when the god had dragged himself off his hospital bed to visit the boy, anxiously inquiring about his nephew’s injuries. Other than receiving a snarky remark where Leif had flatly pointed out that Thor’s injuries were far more severe than his own, the god had been unable to elicit any form of response besides the occasional grunts and nods. The others realised this too, when they were all in the Stark Mansion again. There were no more pranks, no more snide remarks and no more grins. Leif simply kept silent and sat in some inconspicuous corner of a room, ignoring everyone around him and simply replying questions from the others with nods or one-word answers. After three whole days of this odd behaviour, all of the Avengers, even Tony, had started to worry about the kid.

Steve and Bruce both tried to get the boy to open up, but to no avail when all their attempts to start a conversation resulted in awkward silences. Thor endeavoured to get Leif back to his old mischievous self and did so by pestering his nephew the entire day regarding questions about ‘new Midgardian technology’ that the god had somehow managed to find all of a sudden in Tony’s house. This only resulted in an extremely aggravated Leif (although Thor should be given credit for getting the most words out of the boy… even if they are not very _nice_ words). Tony Stark, on the other hand, decided that provoking Leif back to normal is the best way to go about it and threw even more snide remarks in the boy’s direction, hoping to elicit some sort of reaction from him. The only reaction the genius received, though, was from an enraged Thor who brandished the Mjolnir about dangerously and berated Stark for ‘indulging yourself in the joy of my nephew’s pain!’

Yes, the atmosphere in the Stark Mansion was not a happy one. Tony Stark found himself ironically wishing that the boy would revert back to that annoying brat he hated. It appears that Leif caused more grief when the boy became a depressed little child. Heck! Thor had even started to blame Tony for not taking _proper care_ of Leif during the god’s brief absence, therefore leading to a down spiral in the boy’s mental health. Tony didn’t even know he had become the official baby sitter for the kid now!

Despite being the cause of all this trouble, Leif had not actually meant for the trouble to happen. He had merely wanted some peace and quiet; some time alone where he could think about what Loki had said. After a long day of nagging and coaxing, the boy was back in his room, hugging his knees up to his chin while he sat on the nice soft bed. It was only 6.30 p.m. and Leif had barely touched the plate of spaghetti for dinner that Pepper had set kindly before him earlier. The boy simply muttered some inaudible excuse and retreated back to his room, much to Thor and the others’ dismay.

_You have never fitted in…_

These words and a gleaming image of his father’s green eyes had haunted Leif’s thoughts repeatedly since their encounter. He found himself recounting more about his own childhood, reliving those terrible memories, which he had long thought he had forgotten, over and over again. He remembered his first year in school, where he had few friends and was often picked on by older students due to his frail appearance. He had felt so lonely then. Even after the incident where he finally snapped and retaliated against those bullies, he was not exactly well-liked either. Popular maybe, but only as ‘the freak’ or the monstrously strong boy. He was feared, not well-liked.

Then as he grew older, his looks started to develop and he began to make better use of his wit and cunning to make a reputation for himself in his school. His name was notorious amongst the teachers. The other boys were in awe of him and most of the girls, well, tended to eye him as though he was some potentially juicy (though poisonous) piece of meat. Despite of all this, Leif didn’t have anyone in the school that he could consider a true friend. There was no one that he could divulge his deepest secrets or reveal his skills to without fear of scaring off the person. Leif never felt like he belonged.

And even now, when he is no longer in school, he didn’t fit in either. Not at S.H.I.E.L.D, and certainly not with the Avengers. Leif understood that the others have always treated him like some extremely dangerous person when they knew who he really was. They regarded him as some sort of a walking time bomb, one that was deadly and would probably explode at any moment. However, he had tried to ignore this fact in the past, converting his discomfort into entertainment by making use of their fears to prank and tease. Leif felt that he had been doing a good job so far until Loki came along and casually said something that shattered his barriers.

_The Avengers treat you as an unwanted burden that they would gladly toss from their backs._

Leif can’t deny that. That was a fact that had even been flaunted in front of him blatantly (especially by Tony Stark). He supposed he had deserved it a little for causing all that trouble, and indulging in all that mischief. But Leif wondered if he could have remained sane under all the stress he had been through if he had not managed to have his fun. They provided him with a distraction. No, Leif realised that his pranks did more than that. They gave him the attention he had craved. Leif smiled bitterly at how pathetic he had been. After all those years of telling himself he didn’t care about what others thought, he was still hankering for attention.

_Why do you put yourself under all that pressure? Why do you struggle so hard to meet the expectations of the people around you?_

Sadly, this was the same case with his adopted parents as well. Not that Leif felt they didn’t love him. He knew they did. However, he also knew that he was adopted, and this fact had always made him insecure. Leif knew that he wasn’t their real son, and ever since he realised this fact he had always felt that there was a need to work harder for his parents’ love. There had always been this innate fear in his heart that his parents may one day reject him if he failed to meet their expectations.

_Will they still love you once they see your true form?_

Leif’s arms wrapped around his knees tighter as he remembered his cold blue skin and piercing red eyes when he had transformed into a Frost Giant. A monster. How could Eleanor and Oliver love him when he looked like that? How could anyone possibly like him when he looked like that? Why would they? Even Leif hated himself when he saw his reflection as a Frost Giant in the mirror.

The boy wondered if his father had really been through experiences that were similar to his. _He must have_ , Leif decided after a moment’s thought. _He knew how I felt…_

Leif gave an uncontrollable shudder when he tried imagining how life was like for Loki in the past. If Leif had felt so low after only living for 18 years, perhaps Loki’s actions could even be justified, having lived and gone through thousands of years with experiences similar to these.

_We are monsters._

Leif remembered with a pang of irony how he had told Bruce Banner in the past that one’s conscious decisions makes the person who he or she is. He gave a rueful smile at this thought. Now this memory seems a little taunting, given his current state of mind. However, even if Leif grew to accept this monstrous part of himself, would other people accept him as well, even after knowing what he is?  

 _Besides, you nearly joined Loki in his quest to conquer the Earth, not just once, but twice in the past, didn’t you?_ A nasty mocking voice sounded at the back of his head. _Some conscious decisions those were…_

XXX

Thor suddenly brought the Mjolnir down onto the dining table with a loud ‘thud’, causing the Avengers seated around the table to give tiny jumps involuntarily. Tony, for one, thought it was a miracle his table had not collapsed on its legs.

“Things cannot continue like this!” The Norse God said infuriatedly as he glared around at his friends. After Leif had mumbled something under his breath and left for his room without even having a proper evening meal, Thor had decided that measures will have to be taken to cheer up his nephew and had gathered his friends for an important meeting.

“We know Thor,” Tony muttered unhappily. “Believe me, we wish for your nephew to recover as quickly as possible from his despondent state as well. His depression is catching.” The billionaire rubbed his face wearily while the god glared at him.

“This is all your fault, Stark. If you didn’t bring Leif along with you, none of this would have happened,” Thor growled and Tony stared at him in disbelief.

“Hey! I am not the boy’s official babysitter. And he is 18 years old, for god’s sakes. The kid is not exactly a kid anymore. He made that decision himself!” Tony replied indignantly. “Besides, I don’t see why I have to bear the brunt of the blame. Bruce here agreed to let the boy go as well.” Tony nodded towards Bruce, who sank a bit lower down his chair when Thor turned accusingly onto him.

“And I am starting to regret that decision,” Bruce admitted guiltily, not only to the frustrated Thor, but also to the others in the room. “It seems as though Loki has damaged the boy’s spirit beyond repair.”

“Furthermore, it was dangerous! Leif could have gotten killed!” Thor re-established his point by thumping the Mjolnir on the table once more and Tony winced at the loud bang it caused. At this rate he would have to buy a new table.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t blame Tony entirely for this,” Steve spoke up, being the fair one, and Tony suddenly felt grateful about that. Maybe goodie-two-shoes Captain America wouldn’t be so bad after all, especially in circumstances like these. “After all, it was to rescue us.” The soldier continued to remind the god gently of this fact and received a disgruntled grunt as a response.

“Yeah, finally someone acknowledges the fact that I just saved all of your skins.” Tony said and grinned to Steve, who didn’t return the smile. “Besides, I didn’t intentionally place the boy in harm’s way. Loki is Leif’s father. Even though that guy might be a psycho maniac, you should believe in whatever little humanity your brother has left that he would not kill his own son.” Tony said matter-of-factly to Thor, who simply glared back but thankfully did not argue.

The God of Thunder didn’t really know what to say to Tony Stark’s reply. Part of him still resented the fact that Leif may had been in danger. However, the other hopeful part of Thor was inclined to agree with Tony, to agree that his brother still had an ounce of good left in him.

“There is no use in debating who is to take the blame any longer,” Natasha finally spoke up irritatedly. “What we should do now is to help Leif overcome whatever poison Loki has injected into his heart and get him back to normal again.”

“What poison?” Thor asked in alarm while the others ignored him.

“The Captain and I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t give much of a response.” Bruce mumbled sadly and Steve gave a curt nod.

“Well, don’t look at me. I am not Aunt Agony material,” Tony said hastily as Natasha turned towards him with an expecting look. “Ask Pepper. She’s helped me through all my troubles.” The billionaire turned and grinned at his lover, who glanced back exasperatedly.

“I can’t say I haven’t tried,” Pepper said apologetically to Thor. “But Leif wouldn’t open up.”

All the eyes in the room were now trained on Natasha Romanoff, who met this onslaught of attention with one raised eyebrow.

“I am a trained killer, not psychiatrist.” The red headed assassin replied simply and Clint, who was next to her, nodded in agreement.

“Same here guys. I don’t even know how to start off a conversation with the kid.” Hawkeye muttered. After all, Thor, Steve and Bruce were the ones who had spent more time with Leif, Clint rarely talked to him.

“So no one can help my nephew?” Thor asked, looking extremely woebegone.

“You are forgetting about yourself big guy,” Tony pointed out. “You are his uncle. You are _the uncle_. If anyone could get him back to normal, it’s you!”

“Except for the fact that if he could, he would already have done so, Tony.” Pepper reminded her lover gently and Tony frowned. _Right._

The entire room became silent as everyone tried to think of another possible solution, but to no avail. The tense atmosphere continued for a few minutes before it was broken by Steve.

“At this rate, we are getting nowhere,” Steve said finally. “Successful or not, our best bet is to find someone to talk to the kid. Preferably someone who knows him well and he would not be uncomfortable with.” A few heads nodded in consent and there was a slight murmuring as to who would be the best candidate for the job. Tony suggested Fury and earned himself a few sharp glares as well as a hard whack on the head by Pepper. Then, suddenly, Thor brightened up.

“I know the perfect person for this job!” The god bellowed happily and the rest of the Avengers turned to him in surprise. Thor grinned as he looked around at his friends’ bewildered faces.

Yes, the god was sure that the person he had in mind will cure his nephew of the ‘poison’.


	21. Cups of Coffee

Leif was five years old again. The boy had just broken Eleanor’s favourite vase, one with beautiful pink and blue swirls on the surface and was now staring at the broken pieces in fascination.

_They are so pretty…_

Using both of his tiny hands, Leif gingerly picked up one of the shattered pieces of porcelain on the floor and admired the swirls of pink and blue. The boy then wordlessly placed that piece carefully on the floor and picked up another one, setting it down beside the first. Bit by bit, Leif started to piece out some sort of a picture with the broken pieces of the vase. When he was finally finished, the boy gazed at his masterpiece with pride and thought excitedly about showing it to Mum and Dad.

_They will love this!_

However, when Eleanor and Oliver saw what their son had done, they were not exactly pleased. Eleanor was upset about the loss of her precious vase and Oliver had been furious. He began to bellow loudly about something the boy couldn’t quite understand. Leif only knew that Mum and Dad were angry with him. They were disappointed.

He cried.

~0~

Leif’s eyelids twitched for a second and the boy’s eyes flew open.

_Now that was a terrible dream._

As Leif continued to lay flat on the bed and his vision slowly focused, he realised with a sudden shock that he was not staring up into the plain white ceiling above. He was actually gazing into a pair of bespectacled hazel brown eyes.

“God!” Leif exclaimed in alarm as he jolted up and shuffled to the edge of his bed, staring at the intruder in his room with disbelief. “Darcy?”

“Morning!” Darcy greeted cheerfully as she grinned at her surprised friend. “You have some really beautiful long eyelashes, you know?” She added lightly as Leif continued to look at her incredulously.

_Why in the world is Darcy in my room? Jesus, how long had she been here?_

“Why are you here?” Leif muttered as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was really in no mood to entertain guests right now.

“Oh, Jane and I came over for another visit today!” Darcy said happily. “So I thought I would come up here to say hello, although, it turned out you were still sleeping. So I just stayed and watched for a moment.” The girl flashed another unashamed grin which bemused Leif greatly. She had said it as though she snuck up on people and watched them while they were sleeping all the time.

“So, did you have a nightmare or something? You looked really uncomfortable for some time while you slept.” Darcy added curiously, reminding Leif unpleasantly of his bad dream.

“No… nothing like that,” Leif lied and then hurriedly changed the topic. “So… you came really early today?”

“Yes!” Darcy replied excitedly. “For some reason Tony Stark sent over his private jet and invited me and Jane over for a stay! Gosh, you should have seen his jet! I like its colour, you know, it’s a really grand shade of scarlet. Reminds me of the time when I was in the high school cheer leading squad- ” The girl continued to ramble on happily about her past experiences to Leif, who simply blocked out her voice completely, just like he had done to others’ in conversations during the past few days. His mind began to drift back to the dream he had earlier.

The incident in the dream had happened when Leif was still a toddler. After the boy had cried, Oliver immediately regretted his outburst of anger and started to comfort his son, explaining to him that he was worried Leif may have injured himself while playing with the porcelain shards. However, even then, Leif never truly forgot the terrible feeling he had when he saw the look of anger and disappointment in his parents’ eyes. The boy had readily decided that he did not like vases after that incident. Leif was just wondering if the incident had been the reason for the noticeable absence of vases in his home since then when a sharp smack on the side of his head woke him up from his day dream.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” Leif snapped in anger as he rubbed the painful spot he was hit and glared at Darcy, who simply glared back.

“You weren’t listening to a word I was saying, were you? You deserved it, you know?” The girl replied dryly while Leif looked extremely exasperated.

_Are all girls so tiresome?_

“I was listening,” Leif said untruthfully once more and Darcy didn’t seem convinced.

“Uh huh… Then what was the colour of my squad’s mascot’s jumper? Scarlet or blue?” Darcy demanded and Leif rolled his eyes sceptically.

“Scarlet?” Leif replied sarcastically and received another hard smack on the side of his right arm. “Ow! Hey!”

“Ah ha! See! You weren’t paying attention! I never mentioned a squad mascot!” Darcy declared annoyingly and Leif stared at her in bemusement.

_Damn, this girl is crazy!_

“Fine! I am sorry!” Leif retorted in irritation and Darcy seemed to suddenly brighten up once more.

“Okay, apology accepted!” The girl said happily and reached out to tug Leif by his sleeve. “Come on! Go get ready and let’s go out for a morning coffee!”

“What?” Leif was surprised. Now he hadn’t expected to be invited out for a drink. And besides, he didn’t feel like going out anyway. “I am sorry. But I don’t think we can. I am not allowed to leave the Stark Mansion.” Leif replied flatly, secretly glad that this ban was actually useful in helping him push off invitations.

“Nope!” Darcy lifted a finger knowingly. “I had talked with the others and they are allowing us to go out for coffee today! Just the two of us! Isn’t that great?” She grinned gleefully at Leif who was totally stunned by this piece of news.

 _So they are actually allowing me out into the city without supervision?_ Leif wondered in bewilderment to himself. Damn, it looks like his excuse not to go out with Darcy wouldn’t work anymore…

“What are you waiting for?” Darcy exclaimed impatiently and started to tug on Leif’s sleeves, dragging him off the bed. “Go get ready!”

XXX

Thor watched as a giddy Darcy and utterly bemused Leif left the Stark Mansion and turned to Jane Foster, who was snuggling up next to the god on the couch.

“Do you really think this will work, Jane?” Thor asked his lover anxiously. “Will Leif be too much for Darcy to handle?” Jane gave a tiny giggle at Thor’s words.

“I think you should be worrying about it the other way round.” Jane replied with a smile. “Besides, after hearing all that you guys have told me about Leif, I can safely say that he doesn’t need a grown-up or a counsellor right now. He needs a friend.” Thor nodded in agreement and Tony Stark, who was standing near the couple, gave a little laugh.

“Well, Thor, it looks like your ‘perfect person’ found an even more perfect person for the job!” The billionaire said teasingly while the Thunder God ignored him.

“But I am still worried that Leif may be difficult for Darcy to talk to,” Thor said uneasily to Jane. “The boy can be rather eccentric sometimes.”

“And I assure you, Thor, Darcy is no better. In fact, she is a lot more capable than she looks!” Jane smiled assuringly to the god. “Besides, Darcy knows a lot more about Leif than I do. The two of them had been chatting online since they met. In fact, from the way I saw Darcy giggle while staring at her computer screen, I suspect that both of them have a little something going on.” Jane gave another laugh at that thought and Thor smiled as well.

“By the way, Jane, how did they chat from long distances using the so called ‘computers’?” Thor asked after puzzling for a moment. “Does it give them abilities like Heimdall’s, allowing them to see and hear things from faraway?” Jane grinned upon hearing her lover’s questions and gazed into the god’s blue eyes.

“Why don’t I teach you about that later? That way, we will be able to communicate using computers in the future, no matter how far apart we are.” Jane said lovingly and Thor grinned at the thought. Tony, who was watching the romantic scene with amusement, gave a tiny snort.

“Urgh! Do you guys want to go into one of my deluxe guestrooms or something? You know… for some privacy?” Tony smirked as Jane and Thor stared at him in frustration. “I have one that has a really nice view of scenery and a large comfortable king sized bed, if you know what I mea- Whoa! Relax, big guy! Put the hammer down! I was just kidding!”

XXX

Leif stirred his cup of coffee glumly as he stared in bemusement at Darcy, who was now gazing happily down at the slice of strawberry cheesecake she had ordered.

“Hmmm! This is good!” Darcy declared gleefully after she sampled the cake and grinned at Leif, who simply looked bored. Both of them were now in the same café they had been to in the past with Thor and Jane. After ordering a cup of coffee for Leif and the cake for herself, Darcy had sat down cheerfully at the seat across Leif and started to rattle off into a one-sided conversation with the boy. After listening to Darcy talk about the bizarre appearances of some supposed ghost at her high school for ten minutes, Leif decided to put a stop to this.

“Darcy,” Leif said quietly, interrupting the girl midsentence and causing her to stare at him in surprise. “My uncle put you up to this, didn’t he?” Leif looked at Darcy expectantly. Well, it was obvious Thor would do something like this.

“Well, yeah he did.” Darcy answered unabashedly, much to Leif’s astonishment. He had expected the girl to deny that. “But obviously I am not here just because he asked me to. I am here because you are my friend and I wanted to see you!”  Darcy grinned once more and Leif gave a low cynical laugh.

_So I still have a friend now?_

“But since you seem to want to talk about this matter rather than the White Lady, then I guess I don’t mind either.” Darcy continued matter-of factly. “So I heard that you had been messing yourself up lately?” The girl crossed her arms as a sign of disapproval and glared at Leif accusingly. Leif didn’t answer and merely sipped his coffee, avoiding eye contact with the girl. He didn’t really want anyone to counsel him on this issue right now. However, Darcy was not one to be deterred by silences.

“See, you are doing exactly what I meant! Keeping quiet, ignoring others and pretending to be someone you are not!” Darcy said flatly and Leif started to feel offended by her words.

“I don’t see how I am pretending to be someone I am not, Darcy!” Leif retorted scornfully. “Haven’t you ever considered that maybe the past me had been the façade all along? Simply to get other people to notice me?” Leif bit his lip after the last sentence. Damn! Why was he even saying something like that? Now he sounded utterly pathetic.

However, Darcy didn’t seem to notice Leif’s discomfort at all. She simply stared back at him with her brows raised sceptically, observing the boy.

“Nope, I am pretty sure the Leif I had been chatting to online in the past is the real one.” Darcy replied simply and Leif gave a disdainful laugh.

“Another reason why you are easy prey on the internet, Darcy.” Leif’s sneer turned into a look of confusion when Darcy chuckled at his insult.

“And that just proved what I have said!” Darcy declared triumphantly. “If the quiet sullen Leif is the real you, you wouldn’t have said such a nasty, sarcastic remark to me!” Leif gaped in exasperation and bewilderment at what Darcy said.

_Seriously, does anything actually faze this girl? Or is she too giddy to be insulted?_

Leif suddenly felt a surge of annoyance within him. It was as though all the pent up frustration inside of him from the past few days just bubbled up and spilled out without control. Even if he had been reluctant to talk to any of the people who were actually causing that grief, he suddenly felt an urge to target his anger at this girl sitting before him who claimed to be his friend.

“You don’t know anything!” Leif snarled furiously as he glared at Darcy. “You don’t know about a single thing that I am going through right now! How would you know what it’s like not to fit in wherever you go and to be treated like you are some sort of freak? Stop trying to-” Before Leif could finish his rant, he was forced to stop when Darcy unglamorously stuffed a spoon with some of her cheesecake into his mouth. Leif coughed in shock and glared at the girl, who was staring at him idly.

“Yes, this cake is really nice, isn’t it?” Darcy said dryly as Leif shot her another dirty look, wiping his lips clean with a serviette. “And don’t you dare say again that I don’t know how it feels not to fit in. It only shows me that you had not been paying attention to me during our past online conversations. Unless you had been asleep for most of our chats, you should know by now that I am political science student working with a group of scientists! What was it again about being the odd one out?” Darcy asked sarcastically while Leif seemed dumbfounded.

_Right, I forgot…_

“That’s not the point!” Leif argued heatedly. “You are not treated like you are some sort of monster whenever you do or say something. Besides, Jane accepts you as her assistant!”

“Only because she has no other choice,” Darcy smiled. “And none of the other scientists I have worked with in the past held me with regard due to my major. Sometimes I even get treated like some daft kid who doesn’t understand English. But you don’t see me wallowing about in self-pity, do you?” Leif glared at her.

“I am not wallowing about in self-pity.” The boy growled in irritation. “Besides, if I do remember correctly, you have said that your colleagues are nice to you now, aren’t they? You don’t really see that happening to me. Our situations are different.” Darcy gave him a smile that suggested she was talking to a small child.

“Not that different,” Darcy pointed out. “They grew to accept me, just like how the others have grown to accept you! You claim that you don’t fit in because you are so different, but you fail to realise that your difference just makes you unique, not rejected. No two people in the world are the same. Everyone is different, just like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with all its different shapes and patterns that all fit together to form a big picture!” Darcy finished happily and grinned at Leif, who still didn’t seem convinced.

“Then I must be the jigsaw piece that doesn’t fit in anywhere-” Leif began sarcastically before Darcy cut him off again.

“You are not making any sense again,” Darcy said huffily and Leif glared at her. “Every jigsaw piece must fit in somewhere. Why else do you think it’s called a jigsaw piece, genius?”

“You haven’t seen how the others treated me! Especially that Tony Stark!” Leif exclaimed angrily. “It’s obvious that they can’t wait to get rid of me!”

“Everyone has a different way of showing their love, Leif. Jane had told me a million times in the past that she can’t wait to get a new assistant to replace me, but she never did.” Darcy replied simply and smiled at her friend. “Also, from what I have seen earlier this morning, some of them were genuinely worried about you. It appears that you are the one locking yourself up and pushing them away. And you have the audacity to complain that you don’t fit in?” The girl continued cynically and Leif was at a loss of words.

“What? I- I…” Leif stuttered for a moment. “Look, Darcy, this is ridiculous. You don’t even know what I really am. I will never fit in when I-” Leif began unhappily and paused, unable to bring himself to admit his Frost Giant parentage.  However, Darcy just seemed more interested.

“What? When you what?” The girl asked curiously and Leif gave an exasperated sigh.

_I guess it doesn’t matter if I tell her and scare her away… I might even get some peace afterwards._

“I am a monster, a Frost Giant.” Leif muttered quietly and Darcy’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Oooh! What’s a Frost Giant?” The girl probed inquisitively.

“A monster, just like I have said. When I transform, my skin turns blue and-” Leif started irritatedly but stopped in shock when Darcy gave a squeal of excitement.

“Wow! That sounds just like Sulley from the cartoon Monster Inc! A blue furry giant! I like that guy, he is so cute!” Darcy exclaimed in glee while Leif stared at her incredulously.

“What? You don’t like Sulley?” Darcy asked quizzically after noticing the look Leif gave her. This comment was too much for Leif. His entire conversation with Darcy had been entirely wacky and ridiculous. After all that misery and contained frustration the boy had kept within him for the past few days, this exasperating chat he was having finally made him snap. But it was not in a bad way.

Darcy’s puzzled expression turned into a grin as she gazed at Leif, who was clutching his sides and laughing uncontrollably, attracting stares from around the café. After the boy finally managed to get a hold of himself, he wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes as he flashed Darcy a grin, the first one he had shown in days.

“Really, you amaze me, Darcy.” Leif chuckled with amusement. “I can tell you that I look nothing like Sulley when I transform. In fact, you would probably be freaked out once you see me.” He continued while Darcy glared back at him defiantly.

“Uh huh! No I will not!” The girl replied firmly at the grinning boy. “Besides, I don’t understand. What makes a Frost Giant a monster anyway?” Leif’s grin faltered as he started to ponder Darcy’s question. Now that was something he had not thought of. Indeed, what exactly makes a Frost Giant a monster?

“They look hideous,” Leif said lamely and Darcy glared at him.

“That’s a bullshit answer.”

“Well, they like to engage in wars.”

“There are also many people who like to engage in wars. Ever studied history? It doesn’t exactly make them monsters anyway!”

“They love killing!” Leif snapped, thoroughly annoyed by Darcy’s retorts. Darcy’s brows rose cynically at this sentence.

“Well, do _you_ love killing?” Darcy asked simply and Leif was flabbergasted at her question once more. Darcy nodded at Leif’s stunned expression. “I shall take your silence as ‘No’. There! We have cleared that all up! You are not a monster!” Darcy said happily and Leif gave her an exasperated smile.

“Darcy, I-” Leif began once before being interrupted by Darcy. Again.

“No, I don’t want to hear you proving whatever monstrosity you have inside of you to me again. You are my friend. You are Leif. You are you. That’s all I need to know.” Darcy replied firmly once more and Leif gazed at her in surprise.

_I am me?_

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t fit in the very second you appear in someplace new. No one does. Like I have said before, everyone is different. What’s important is that people will eventually overcome these differences and accept them. Everyone will, trust me,” Darcy smiled and patted Leif assuringly on the shoulder. “That’s what truly forms a friendship. No one will be an outcast forever! You have to have faith in yourself, and stop doubting and pushing the others away as well. You are a great guy! Just be yourself!”

_Just be myself, huh?_

Leif watched as Darcy flashed him another grin and returned back to prodding her cake with the spoon. He gave a tiny smile when the girl started to comment again about how this is one of the best strawberry cheesecakes she has ever had. Darcy may be a little giddy, no, make it extremely giddy, but she was staying true to her character, and that just made her more lovable.

_Maybe I should take a leaf from her book and stop being so harsh with myself…._

“I guess I shall give that a shot.” Leif said finally and Darcy smiled gleefully at him, pleased that her words had some effect on Leif. “Thanks, Darcy.” The boy continued with grin as he saw how part of the girl’s lips was smeared with the cheese.

“Oh, it’s no biggie.” Darcy smiled as she wiped her lips. “You are my friend after all, and I didn’t want to see you so down.” Leif raised his brows in mock surprise after hearing her words.

“Just friends?” The boy asked cheekily as he gazed straight into Darcy’s eyes. “I would have thought that after all we have been through, we would be more than that!”

“Right, Casanova. We have been through two real life meetings and six online conversations.” Darcy rolled her eyes sarcastically.

“Well, I thought that this would be considered a date… Seeing how it’s just the two of us.” Leif replied with a smirk.

“Nice try. Even if it is, I don’t go steady with guys after just one date.” Darcy retorted as she popped the last bit of cake into her mouth. Leif watched her in amusement for a few seconds before a sly grin crept across his face. He quickly drained his cup of coffee and set the empty cup on the table.

“Now that you have finished your cake and I have finished my coffee, I believe that our first date is officially over.” Leif casually informed a stunned Darcy. He then gestured a waitress over to their table. “May we have another two cappuccinos, Miss?” The waitress nodded and went off to fetch them their drinks.

“Leif? What are you doing?” Darcy asked the grinning boy, befuddled by his actions. However, Leif merely gave her another gleeful smirk.

“Well, I thought that it was about time to start our second date.”

XXX

All of the Avengers, Jane Foster and Pepper Potts were in the living room of Tony Stark, anxiously waiting for the return of Darcy and Leif. It was 2.00 p.m. now, and it has been 5 hours since they had left. Finally, the front doors of the Stark Mansion swung open and Leif and Darcy strode in, happily chatting with each other.

“Well well, if it isn’t Romeo and Juliet,” Tony said sarcastically when he saw the duo. “How was thy date?” The billionaire made a dramatic gesture, even though he was holding a mug of hot coffee in his right hand. Leif glared at the man for a moment and as a response, fired a small blast of energy from his palm, knocking the mug of steaming coffee from Tony’s hand into his chest, scalding the genius. Tony Stark gave a yelp of pain and the mug fell onto the ground, smashing into tiny pieces.

“What the hell was that for?” Tony bellowed in rage, glaring at the smirking boy after regaining his composure. The room fell into a stunned silence.

“Consider it retribution for saying all those nasty things about me during the past few days, Stark.” Leif gave a cold sneer that would have made Loki extremely proud. “You deserved it, you know?” Darcy gave a tiny giggle at the reference Leif made to what she had said in the morning. Leif grabbed her hand and started to lead her out of the room, off to somewhere they could continue speaking in private.

“If it’s of any consolation to you, I know a shop where they sell really pretty mugs made of china!” Darcy chirped cheerfully to an utterly bemused Tony as Leif dragged her past the man. After the duo left the living room, the billionaire looked around at his friends wordlessly, as though he was asking them what had just happened.

Thor gave a joyful shout and hugged Jane tightly, exclaiming that his nephew was back to normal again. Steve and Bruce exchanged knowing grins while Natasha seemed pleased at the turn of events. Clint started snickering at the look of Tony’s befuddled face.

“Pepper,” Tony turned to his lover, the only person left in the room whom he could search for some comfort. “That kid broke the mug you gave me for Christmas two years ago.” The man gazed down at the shattered remains of the mug ruefully.

“Don’t worry Tony. I will get you a new one.” Pepper grinned and gave her disgruntled lover a kiss on his cheek.


	22. All's Fair in Love, Hate and War

Loki strode briskly across the wintry, frozen land in Jotunheim.

_Wretched, desolated place._

The surroundings around the god were eerily quiet, and there was not a single living soul to be seen as he trudged through the snow. Loki gazed disdainfully at the broken bodies of several Frost Giants scattered on the land. These corpses belonged to the weaker ones in the population, to those who were near powerless but yet foolishly dared to challenge their superiors. Ever since the death of their king Laufey, the Frost Giants have sunk into bitter quarrels and fights over who would be the next suitable candidate to be king. And up till now, as far as Loki knew, there has yet to be a king.

_These foolish creatures are just killing each other off._

Loki finally reached the place where the fateful fight between the Asgardians and Frost Giants had started a year ago. He took quiet, careful steps towards the cold, icy throne and laid his hand on one of the armrests. Loki's face broke out into an evil grin. This will be his throne, and the Frost Giants his subordinates. Despite being a more powerful race than those humans, the Frost Giants are no better in terms of intelligence. Their might is scattered, divided due to their petty scrambles and quarrels; they slaughter one another in their mad pursuit for power. Loki had decided that they needed a real king, a ruler in order to control them and put an end to this madness. And Loki shall be that ruler.

"What brings you here, Asgardian?" A low whisper sounded all of a sudden.

Loki spun around and observed with amusement as droves of Frost Giants appeared, all with menacing snarls and glares on their faces. At the head of them stood one that was bigger in build than the others, and Loki recognised him as the unofficial leader of the now fallen race.

"Eyvindr," Loki smirked. "How nice to see you again, although this time it seems like the tides have turned. You are now at the head, and not merely by the side." Displeasure flitted across the Frost Giant's face when he heard Loki's poke about him being Laufey's right hand man in the past. Eyvindr frowned at the smaller, smirking deity before him.

"Why are you here, Asgardian?" Eyvindr repeated his question once more. "Have you come to wage war on our race once more?" Several Frost Giants growled and hissed after hearing their leader's words and some of them have even formed [sharp](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/22/Son-of-Loki) icicles in their hands, eager to skewer their enemy. However, Loki was unfazed by this sight, and continued to flash his usual sly grin.

"I know how much your race craves battle, Eyvindr, but alas, I have to disappoint you." Loki smirked. "I have come with [glad](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/22/Son-of-Loki) tidings." The god watched as Eyvindr's blood red eyes flash with doubt and a slight murmur ran across the Frost Giants behind.

"Your king has fallen," Loki continued matter-of-factly. "And your people are scattered. Even now, after a year since Laufey had fallen, Jotunheim has yet to have a king; A  _true_ leader." Loki added and grinned with amusement at the offended look on Eyvindr's face. "Although you may have some followers, Eyvindr, I believe it is obvious that there are many others who disagree with your rule?"

"And you have come to make a mockery of us? To gloat in our faces over what our race has been reduced to as a result of your realm's actions? I do not believe that it is a wise move on your part, Asgardian." Eyvindr snarled spitefully, his voice shaking with anger. A few of the Frost Giants roared their consent and started moving threateningly towards Loki, who smirked and held up both his hands as a sign of peace.

"Now now, I am not as foolish as that. Like I have said earlier, I have come with glad tidings." Loki smiled. "I am here today with a proposition to help salvage your race. To restore Jotunheim to her previous glory."

"You expect us to believe that?" Eyvindr sneered coldly. "I have not forgotten, Asgardian. You were the one who came in the past, seeking cooperation from Laufey to slaughter Odin. You were the one who came with a plan you have claimed to be fool proof. And this is the consequences of your plan." Eyvindr spat out hatefully as he gestured towards the destroyed, frozen wastelands of Jotunheim.

"That was a slight miscalculation on my part," Loki gave an unconvincingly regretful smile. "And I assure you that Jotunheim did not suffer the consequences alone. I too, have been exiled from my home. In fact, I believe that as of today, I am no longer an Asgardian." Loki smiled a little ruefully at this point.

_In fact, I had never been a true Asgardian._

Eyvindr gave a cold laugh at Loki's words.

"So you came today, seeking refuge in our wretched lands? Cowering like a cornered animal from those you have betrayed? That is a fine move, Son of Odin." Eyvindr jeered and several of his cronies cackled in amusement as well. However, to their surprise, Loki grinned, not appearing offended at all by these cruel words.

"I am sorry to inform you Eyvindr, but you have made three grave mistakes in what you have said. Firstly, I am not here to seek refuge in Jotunheim. I came with a plan to help Jotunheim. Secondly, I am not about to hide and cower from those who pursue me." Loki smirked and Eyvindr glared at him with suspicion.

"What is this plan you speak of?" The Frost Giant growled, irritated by his foe's seeming calmness. "And why would someone like you, someone who had proudly worn the title of the Prince of Asgard in the past, help us?" Loki gave a condescending grin.

"And that brings me to your third mistake, Eyvindr. I am not Odin's son." Loki said matter-of-factly and watched with amusement as Eyvindr's jaw dropped with surprise and the rest of the Frost Giants appeared stunned by his words. "In fact, my true father is Laufey." The God of Mischief grinned inwardly when he saw the impact his words had on the Frost Giants. There was a huge uproar as many started arguing about the truth of his words. Even Eyvindr himself took a few minutes to snap out of his shock and raise his hands up as a sign for order and silence.

"You father is Laufey?" Eyvindr repeated sceptically. "And what is your proof?" A stunned silence fell around the ring of Frost Giants surrounding Loki as they stared at the god, waiting for his answer with bated breaths. Loki grinned and wordlessly conjured up the Casket of Ancient Winters, enjoying the gasps and cries of shock his actions elicited.

"The Casket!"

"How did he get it?"

"He… The Asgardian is transforming!"

When the outburst of awe and surprise is over, Loki held the Casket firmly in both hands and strode confidently down the steps to Eyvindr, who was utterly overwhelmed by this turn of events. Loki stared straight into the larger Frost Giant's eyes, with his own skin now a deep icy blue and eyes as red as blood.

"Is this sufficient proof for you, Eyvindr?" Loki smirked while the giant simply looked dumbfounded. The trickster grinned as he felt the greedy eyes of the Frost Giants around him as they stared at the Casket of Ancient Winters, desperate to have their power source back again.

Loki had not liked the idea of revealing his true identity to anyone, much less these disgusting creatures that he had despised. However, in order to ensure that his plans will succeed, he would have to bear with the displeasure. Now, the god was even starting to feel entertained by the responses of the giants after they saw the Casket. He knew that they would be easy to bend into his bidding with their desired power source in his hands.

"I believe all of you would recognise that this," Loki raised the Casket for all those around him to see and chuckled when he spotted the intrigued looks on their faces, "is the Casket of Ancient Winters? It is Jotunheim's source of power that was stolen by Odin ages ago and since then, Jotunheim has fallen into desolation." The god listened with glee as several Frost Giants snarled and hissed at Odin's name. "To restore Jotunheim back to her former glory, you would need a leader. One that has the ability to lead your people to triumph." Loki saw Eyvindr's eyes widen as the Frost Giant held his breath in tension.

_So, he knows what I am implying…_

"As all of you can see, I am a Frost Giant by blood and I have brought the Casket back to Jotunheim. I believe that by these two facts alone, I am more than qualified to be king." Loki smirked as another rush of whispering shot around the ring of giants. "In fact, being Laufey's son, I am the true and rightful heir to the throne of Jotunheim." Loki continued lightly. Eyvindr held his hand up for silence once more as the others broke out into a series of murmurs and cries, some in consent of what Loki have said while others in objection. The larger Frost Giant glared into the eyes of the smirking god before him, carefully considering what Loki had said.

 _If what he says is true… if he really is the son of Laufey, then he would be the true heir of Jotunheim._  Eyvindr thought to himself.  _Besides, he has the Casket of Ancient Winters; he has the power to restore Jotunheim back to her former self. It would not do for us to continue fighting and killing among ourselves any longer._

"And what will you promise us in return, Son of Laufey?" Eyvindr whispered quietly. "What will you do for Jotunheim if we make you our king?" Loki grinned wickedly after hearing Eyvindr's words.

"I swear to bring glory to Jotunheim. I promise to use the powers of the Casket to bring our people to triumph in wars. That's what all of you crave, is it not?" Loki smirked and gazed around at the nodding, murmuring faces of the Frost Giants. "My father, Laufey, had brought our people to Earth to wage war and conquer the humans in the past, only failing due to Odin's interruptions. Now that the Bifrost is destroyed, there is no easy way for Asgard to interfere if we were to do the same once more." Loki grinned and Eyvindr's eyes widened with both anticipation and surprise.

"How would you propose to get our people to Earth?" The Frost Giant stared at Loki doubtfully.

"My dear Eyvindr, have you forgotten that it was I who helped three of our kind into Asgard the year ago?" Loki drawled. "You wouldn't possibly think that Earth's defences would be higher than Asgard's, would you? Besides, with the powers of the Casket to aid me, it will be no difficult task to bring an army onto Earth." The God of Mischief watched with satisfaction as most of the giants around him nodded in agreement. Even Eyvindr himself seemed pleased by Loki's answer.

"Make me your leader and I assure you that there will be no more senseless killing among your people in Jotunheim any longer. I will lead our armies to glorious victories on Earth and I will bring Jotunheim back to eminence once more." Loki finished his speech grandly and waited patiently for Eyvindr's answer. After a moment's silence, the giant finally spoke up.

"So what do you wish from us, King Loki?" Eyvindr grinned evilly and many other giants behind him gave low murmurs of consent. Loki smirked with glee.

"I want you to prepare an army. And I want the whole of Jotunheim to prepare for war." The trickster declared, musing at the loud roars of satisfaction and approval that followed.

XXX

Leif stared at the television with utter boredom as a few colourful ponies bounced across the screen. Beside him, Thor gave another loud burst of laughter as the god watched his personal favourite, Rainbow Dash, make a funny quip.

It has been four days since Jane and Darcy had come for a stay and this morning, both of them had left once more back to the observatory in Tromso. During her four days in the Stark Mansion, Darcy had cheered Leif up considerably with her wild and wacky antics. Although Leif had been reluctant at first to have any more interactions with the Avengers, preferring to stick with Darcy's company alone, the girl had forcefully pushed him back into their midst again.

The boy gradually warmed up to Bruce's good natured attempts for conversations as well as Steve's invitations to work out at the gym (all with Darcy's encouragements). Leif also started to 'hang out' more with Thor after the giddy Darcy dragged him along for every single excursion the god had with Jane. Exchanges with Tony Stark had been the same, with both Leif and Tony throwing snide remarks at each other at every available opportunity they had. Even after their brief period of teamwork where they rescued the Avengers from Loki, Leif and Tony weren't exactly friends yet. Natasha and Clint had also been fairly nice to the boy, although they did not talk much, considering the natures of both assassins.

Therefore Leif had brightened up considerably since his encounter with Loki and was even back to some of his old tricks again, causing Tony to be somewhat infuriated (The billionaire was rather thankful for Leif's recovery as well). He enjoyed Darcy's company and was rather disappointed when she had announced that both she and Jane would be returning to Tromso that morning. After making some last attempts at flirting and promising to stay in touch, Leif waved off a gleeful Darcy glumly as she and Jane left in Tony Stark's private jet. Now Leif was sulking, bored without Darcy's lively chatters and quips to cheer him up, and was forced to watch an episode of My Little Ponies with Thor, who had insisted on Leif keeping him company.

The boy was just wondering if this was Karma's way of biting him in the ass for introducing his uncle to the cartoon when Clint Barton came into the room and sniggered at the amusing sight. The master archer grinned as Leif shot him a glare and generously decided to help the kid out. After all, it wouldn't do for their efforts to bring the boy back to normal again to be thwarted simply because Thor decided to annoy Leif with colourful ponies.

"So kid, I heard from Thor that you are rather good with a bow and arrow. Why don't we go outside for a little practice match?" Clint chuckled as Leif positively beamed at his words and jumped up from the couch immediately, glad for this sudden path of escape.

"Alright, challenge accepted! Let's go!" Leif replied quickly and literally dashed out of the room, leaving a disappointed Thor behind.

"Don't worry buddy, I will look after him." Clint grinned as he patted the disgruntled god on the shoulder and walked out of the room to follow Leif.

XXX

Leif grimaced as the arrow he shot missed the bull's eye by inches. Both he and Clint were now in a part of Tony's 'back yard' which had been revamped and equipped to suit the archer's needs for practice since the day the Avengers moved in. The area was now filled with bull's eyes and other sorts of target practice equipment, some of them even moving and powered by Stark technology.

"The wind is too strong today," Leif grumbled to Clint, who was wearing an amused smile on his face. "It is impossible to hit the target accurately."

"Come now, kid, don't blame Mother Nature for your misses." Clint chuckled as he held his bow in place and drew out an arrow. "A true archer always hits his mark, no matter what obstacles there are in his way." Having said that, Hawkeye pulled back the arrow, tilted his bow at an angle, aimed and released his grip. The arrow zipped through the air in a funny little bend and hit the bull's eye straight in the centre. Clint grinned at Leif's stunned expression as the boy stared at the arrow protruding out of the target board in bemusement.

"You must have cheated," Leif said finally when he turned to face Clint. "Do you have any telekinesis powers that you never told us about?" Clint laughed and was about to reply with a witty answer when he was interrupted by an amused laugh.

"Well, it looks like you guys are having fun."

Both Leif and Clint turned to see Natasha Romanoff striding towards them, smiling and holding two cans of Coke in her hands.

"Thor told me that you two came out for some archery practice an hour ago," Natasha explained. "So I thought you might want to have something to drink." She held out the cans of Coke to both Leif and Clint.

"Thanks Tasha," Clint grinned and accepted the drink graciously while Leif muttered his thanks and did the same. Before long, all three of them were sitting around a small circular picnic table in Tony's yard, with Leif and Clint sipping their drinks and Natasha observing them carefully. After a moment of silence, Clint started to speak up in attempts to start a conversation.

"The kid's not bad at archery you know?" Clint said to Natasha and shot Leif a little grin. "Needs more practice though." The master archer added and gave a snicker when Leif scowled at him. Natasha laughed when she saw the look of indignation on Leif's face.

"Don't tease the boy, Barton." Natasha said at last. "You know it takes a long time to reach the level of skill you have now." Clint stared at his friend for a moment, seeming a little bemused by her words.

"I thought I had told you that you can call me Clint when we were not in work." Hawkeye said at last and it was now Leif's turn to snigger.

"I prefer using Barton," Natasha gave a wry smile and turned to Leif with a stern look. "And don't you get any funny ideas in your head. Barton and I are friends… partners, not lovers." Clint gave a nonchalant shrug while Leif silently mouthed the word 'friends' with contempt. Natasha shot the boy one last warning look before leaning back in her chair, allowing another awkward silence to fill the air.

"So… how did you two become such good  _friends_?" Leif smirked after a moment and Clint gave an amused grin. It seems like this kid has a death wish. Natasha gave Leif another glare before deciding that there will be no harm in telling him what had happened before.

"In the past, before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D, I sort of appeared on the organisation's radar in a bad way. Barton was sent to kill me, but he made a different call and recruited me instead. He gave me a second chance in life. I owe him for that." Natasha said simply and Leif's brows rose, impressed by the assassin's short yet shocking story.

"Well, you saved me from Loki's mind control last year, didn't you? That makes us even." Clint muttered, rather embarrassed by his friend's noble recount of him. Natasha gave a casual shrug while Leif looked extremely disturbed by this piece of news.

"My father controlled your mind?" The boy finally asked in disbelief, staring at Clint.

"Well, yeah. Loki had this glowing sceptre last year that could be used to put people under his spell once they are touched with it." Clint muttered unhappily as he recalled the nasty experience. "I was one of the unfortunate ones who-" The man then hurriedly stopped after he saw the warning glance Natasha shot in his direction. Leif seemed depressed once more at the mention of his father.

"Leif, you still care for Loki, don't you?" Natasha asked Leif gently while gazing at the boy. The assassin knew how it feels like to be torn from the ones you love.

"No I don't. I hate him." Leif muttered bitterly as he glared down at his can of Coke. After all Loki had done to him, Leif had told himself that he wouldn't bother about the god anymore. However, there was still this tiny bit of him that jolted every time Loki's name was mentioned and ached when he remembered his father.

Natasha stared at the boy sadly. She disliked Loki as well, and normally she would not be speaking up for her enemies. However, if Leif's hatred for Loki continued to hurt the boy, then Natasha decided that she would have to try and put a stop to this.

"And that just means you still care for him, Leif." Natasha continued simply while Leif glared at her. "Hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is. Your hatred for Loki stemmed from your love for him, and that means that deep down inside, there is still a part of you that feels for your father. If you don't learn to let go of that hatred, you will just be hurting yourself further."

Leif's stomach churned after hearing what Natasha said and he considered her words for a moment.

_Hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is…_

That was true, he guessed. Leif knew that he has yet to be indifferent towards Loki. In fact, the boy realised that if any news of his father appeared all of a sudden, he would likely be the one who is the most anxious to learn more. And it was not for the same reasons as the others who were ready to thwart Loki's schemes. No. Leif would want to understand his father's current plight and situation; He still cared. Leif's heart leapt at a sudden thought that flitted through his mind. Loki wasn't indifferent towards Odin and Thor either. From what Leif had observed and seen, Loki hated them. If what Natasha Romanoff said was true, there might still be some way of salvation for his father yet.

"Thanks Natasha." Leif smiled at the red headed assassin.

"There is no need to thank me. You and Tony saved me from Loki in the past." Natasha replied simply. "And when I've got red on my ledger, I like to wipe it clean." The woman added jokingly. Leif smirked at her reply.

"Really? Can you wipe out that much red?" Leif returned with a mischievous grin.

Natasha's grin faded as her eyes widened with horror at what Leif had said. Loki's cold sneering voice sounded in her head once more.

_Drakov's daughter, Tugenov, the hospital fire? Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red!_

"After all, it's not every day that I save people's lives. That will be a really big spot of red on your ledger, you know?" Leif grinned and drained the last of his Coke. He then tossed the can into a nearby dustbin and rose from his seat, striding off to shoot a few more arrows.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Clint gave a light chuckle as Natasha still sat on her seat, stunned by what Leif had said.

"Oh, you have no idea." The Black Widow gave a derisive snort as Clint grinned at his friend's discomfort.

XXX

Loki's eyes snapped open and he was back in the room of the old run down cottage once more. The God of Mischief smirked evilly to himself.

_Perfect._

After making that little trip to Jotunheim using astral projection, the Frost Giants are now under his command. Loki did not give a single damn about restoring Jotunheim back to its former glory or saving that wretched race. Those vile creatures will merely be his tools to stall the Avengers while he proceeded with his plan. Despite despising those monsters, Loki had to admit that they were extremely formidable and powerful in combat. And besides, Leif had been right about one thing: Loki loved chaos.

"EUREKA!"

Loki heard a wild scream of joy and triumph coming from outside the room and grinned once more.

_Looks like Sterns has succeeded._

The god stood up and exited the room, staring at the scene before him with amusement. Samuel Sterns was jumping about and prancing around a machine in a manner that seems sort of like a victory dance. When the gleeful scientist saw Loki, he stopped and gave a wide excited grin.

"Mind if you share the joyous news, Doctor?" Loki smirked as he gazed at the deformed scientist. Sterns gave a mad chuckle and patted the machine beside him lovingly.

"Our baby… she is ready for her trial run." Samuel Sterns said with an ecstatic, insane glint in his eyes and Loki flashed a wicked grin in reply.

XXX

Nick Fury was sitting in his new office, frowning and pondering about the issues happening lately.

The new S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters have been set up and preparations were now being taken to move the Avengers and Leif from Tony's house to the building. Tony Stark had been overjoyed when he was informed of this brilliant piece of news and had even offered to treat Fury to a round of drinks, which the director had declined. Agent Coulson had left to escort the Avengers to the building and Fury deduced that they would be arriving soon.

Nick Fury gave a weary sigh.

To be honest, locating the entire of his emergency response team in the Stark Mansion had been extremely stressful for the director as well. Other than the fact that Tony Stark was practically breathing fire down his neck for the past month, Nick had also been worried about not being able to keep constant checks on the Avengers. It was not like he didn't trust them or anything, but sometimes accidents do happen. Besides, contacting the Avengers in Stark's office and house when there were emergencies had been proven to be a tedious task, thanks to Tony, and Fury can't say that he wouldn't be grateful about having his team close and ready for action in times like these.

This matter aside, Fury was now stressed and anxious about tracking down Loki. That maniac has an extremely dangerous weapon in his hands and had blatantly issued a threat about wrecking the Earth once more. To make matters worse, S.H.I.E.L.D had been unable to detect his whereabouts. Fury gritted his teeth in frustration. How the hell was he supposed to stop Loki's plans if he can't even find the god? That madman could be located anywhere on the planet! Fury was just lamenting the fact that the only way he would be able to find Loki is when the god walked straight into the S.H.I.E.L.D building when he was startled once more by the explosive sound of shattering glass.

_Damn it!_

Fury clenched his fists in agitation. Hadn't he specifically told Phil that all of the Avengers, especially Thor, were to be driven here and walked in through the front door? Why is his office window being compromised once more due to a certain Norse God's fancy?

Nick Fury turned around furiously and was about to berate the culprit who broke his window when his eye widened in shock at the sight of the man standing before him. It wasn't Thor.

"Loki!"


	23. Epiphany

Nick Fury stared in disbelief at the smirking god before him.

"Greetings, Fury," Loki grinned evilly. "Are you not pleased to see me? I was under the impression that you were searching all over the globe for me." The God of Mischief gave a tiny cackle while Nick glared at him. The Director knew that something was up; Loki would not simply crash into his office for no good reason. Nick Fury took slow careful steps from behind his desk, positioning himself in a way that would allow him to rush out of his office when there is a need for it. His hands instinctively hovered over his gun, ready to pull it out of its sheath at any moment.

"I believe to say that we are 'searching for you' is an understatement, Loki. S.H.I.E.L.D is basically trying to hunt you down." Fury growled and Loki flashed an amused grin in response. "What puzzles me now is why you have come here when you are aware of that fact."

"I am aware," Loki replied coolly. "But I am also certain that I have nothing to fear. In fact, I came today because I have taken a liking to your grand little building. I am here to claim it for myself."

"What?" Fury asked incredulously. The Director was still trying to process what Loki had said in his mind when his earpiece crackled and Maria Hill's panicked voice spoke.

"Director! The building is under assault!" Maria cried out into the device and Nick Fury listened with horror at the roars, yells and gunshots sounding in the background. "There are blue giants attacking the building! Director! Director, do you copy?" Nick Fury listened to this piece of news grimly and glared at Loki, who was now giving him another smug smirk.

"And this is yet another example of what I have said in the past," Loki sneered, knowing that Fury was now aware of the current circumstances in the building. "Ant," The god pointed at Fury. "Boot," He then gestured to himself.

Fury acted immediately. Without even waiting for Loki to continue his sentence, the one-eyed man made a mad dash for his office door. Loki whipped out the casket and sent a blast in his direction, meaning to freeze his enemy. However, Fury managed to roll aside swiftly and dodge the attack, reaching the exit and making a hasty retreat out of the office.

"Agent Hill! Pass down orders to evacuate the building! Do not attempt to defend it! Abandon headquarters immediately!" Fury barked as he dashed down the stairs and pulled out his gun, keeping an eye out for any enemies. Loki had thankfully chosen not to pursue him. It appears that the god had other plans. "Maria, do you copy?" Nick Fury asked in alarm when there was no reply.

"Yes sir!" A faint voice answered and Nick heaved a sigh of relief. When the director reached the lower levels of the building, he was stunned for a moment when he saw the hideous icy blue giants that were attacking his men. Bloodied bodies of S.H.I.E.L.D agents as well as a few dead Frost Giants were scattered across the floor. Nick pulled the trigger and shot a few of the giants, saving the men he could save and yelled out orders over the commotion to evacuate. The director then proceeded to make his way down out of the building.

When Nick Fury reached the ground floor of the building, the sight before him turned his blood cold. The bodies of several agents lined the floors and two Frost Giants were forcefully holding down the squirming body of Maria Hill while a third prepared to skewer her with a dagger sharp icicle he had formed in his hand. Without skipping a beat, Nick held up his gun, aimed and shot the third giant directly in his right eye, one of the few soft spots where bullets could actually penetrate.

Surprised by the death of their friend, the other two Frost Giants loosened their grip and Maria kicked out, causing one of them to grunt in pain and managing to escape from their hold. Fury took advantage of their moment of shock to shoot and kill one of the giants while Maria took care of the second using a razor sharp dagger she had hidden in her boot. Both Fury and Maria then rushed out of the building, only to be met with an equally stunning scene of the world outside. Numerous Frost Giants were now rampaging on the streets, laughing and attacking any screaming, panicking civilians they could see. Maria drew out her gun gravely and stood next to her superior, ready to engage in a bloody battle. Fury raised his hand up to his earpiece and pressed the button.

"Phil? What is the situation over at your side?"

"Chaotic, boss! We were intercepted along the way by a bunch of Frost Giants, or that's what Thor said they were. The Avengers are now out in the city to fight them!"

"Well, if you manage to get hold of one of them, tell them that I know where Loki is planning to stage his grand finale."

XXX

Loki stood in the Director's office, grinning to himself as he observed the turmoil occurring on the streets.

_Good. Let the Avengers have something to work on while I carry on with my plans._

"Sir! The machine is started up and ready!" Samuel Sterns' excited voice rang out and Loki smirked, walking out of the office and into the large round room where Sterns had chosen to set up the machine. The deformed man was standing in the centre of the room, beaming at Loki while the machine stood beside him, emitting a faint whirring noise. Loki conjured up the Casket of Ancient Winters and started to place it carefully into the hollow of the machine meant for the relic. Samuel Sterns held his breath in anticipation as the Casket clicked into place and the entire machine started giving off an icy blue glow.

"Yes… yes!" The scientist murmured eagerly and started to push several of the buttons on the machine, punching in orders before finally pulling a lever located at the side of the machine. Faint glowing dark blue lines started stemming out from where the Casket is placed throughout the surface of the device, and Sterns clapped his hands in glee.

"So you are sure that this will work, Doctor?" Loki drawled as he gazed at the elated scientist.

"Absolutely!" Sterns exclaimed proudly. "My machine is designed specifically to draw out the energy of the Casket. It does so by-" The man then continued to ramble on about the scientific workings of his device which Loki could not and did not bother to understand. "It will work," Samuel Sterns declared finally. "And now, I have programmed it to draw out enough energy from the Casket to freeze the whole of New York City, just like you have requested." The scientist gestured towards the tiny buttons on the machine and Loki nodded. This part about the machine Loki knew about, at least.

"And the degree of coldness?" Loki asked in a bored tone.

"Controlled by this lever here," Sterns smiled and pointed to the little red lever at the side. "I have set it to 70%, enough to exterminate any living human in the city once the energy is released." Loki smiled in approval.

"Excellent Doctor, I knew that you were the perfect candidate to build this weapon." Loki smirked as Sterns positively beamed at this bit of praise. "I will be using this machine to set up a freezing aura around this building soon, to deter anyone other than our allies from entering the building. May I suggest that you exit this place and take part in the battle outside? You have created a robotic suit specially for this occasion, have you not?" Samuel nodded fervently and there was a mad glint in his eyes as he spoke.

"Yes, indeed I have!" The scientist grinned. "My suit is designed to withstand degrees of cold up to the level I have set now in our machine. In fact, I am looking forward to showing it to the world!" The man gave a mad cackle. "I guess I shall leave the building now, Sir. I don't want to miss the fun." Samuel started to hurry of the room but paused for a moment, turning his head around and addressing Loki once more.

"And I would like to thank you again, Sir, for giving me this opportunity." The madman's eyes shone with joy and he strode out of the room.

Loki watched the back of Samuel Sterns as he left and smirked to himself.

_Stupid, deluded man…_

The God of Mischief gazed at the machine beside him and touched the lever on the side delicately.

_So Stern's suit can withstand degrees of cold up to this level? We can't have a human running amok in a cold resistant suit under my rule now, can we?_

Loki grinned evilly as he pushed the lever up by just a notch.

_Let's see if that suit of Sterns can handle this degree of cold._

XXX

Leif dodged a wild swing by a large Frost Giant twice his size and blasted the monster away with a strong energy projection.

That afternoon, he and the Avengers, excluding Tony, were being escorted to the new S.H.I.E.L.D building by Phil Coulson in a long stretch limo. The cheeky boy had been raining the poor agent with endless questions about their new place of lodging, much to the amusement of the others, when sudden loud blasts and a lamp post being flung over their car caught their attention. Hearing the screams and cries of people further down the streets, the Avengers and Leif had exited the car to investigate and realised to their horror that the city was under attack by an army of Frost Giants.

The Avengers had wasted no time in suiting up to fight this battle and had sent a flustered Coulson back to notify Tony Stark of the situation immediately. Leif had also insisted in joining the fight, ignoring the protests of his anxious uncle and charging into the battlefield before Thor could stop him. Therefore, the boy was now in the midst of battle, taking down as many Frost Giants as he could.

Leif had just fired another blast of energy from his palm, knocking out a Frost Giant who was chasing a screaming girl when he was caught off guard by a punch from another giant behind him. The blow hit him squarely in the chest and Leif was flung backwards by the sheer force, crashing into the walls of a building behind him. The Frost Giant who had ambushed him cackled loudly, pleased that he had hit his target and advanced on the boy menacingly, forming a sharp icicle in his hand. The giant was just about to strike Leif, who was struggling to get onto his feet, when he was blasted away by a large powerful burst of energy.

Leif stared in surprise at the now motionless body of the Frost Giant as the Iron Man flew down and hovered a few inches over the ground.

"Still sleeping, kid? Rise and shine! We got a war to fight!" Tony Stark chirped annoyingly and Leif glared at his saviour, offended by his words. Before the boy could throw back a nasty retort, a loud booming voice sounded from the tall S.H.I.E.L.D building in the centre of the city. Leif and Tony both looked up and gaped in shock at the huge hologram of Loki, decked in full armour, being projected over the building.

"Greetings New York City," The huge hologram sneered and several of the Frost Giants around roared in exhilaration at the sight of their leader. "I am sure most of you will still remember me from the alien invasion that occurred here months ago? I am Loki, a god from another realm." Leif stared at the image of his father in disbelief while Tony gritted his teeth in frustration at the sight of his enemy.

"I have come to take over the Earth again, and this time, I will show those who defy me no mercy." The hologram smirked evilly. "One hour. That is the time you humans have to surrender to my rule. One hour later, if you continue to fight against me, I will turn New York City into a frozen wasteland. Bear in mind that this is no empty threat."

"Filthy bastard." Leif heard Tony Stark growl in anger beside him and the boy's heart dropped. If Loki did manage to freeze the city, it would be partially Leif's fault. He was the one who brought the Casket of Ancient Winters to his father.

"Do not try my patience. Kneel before me. If you do not, then New York shall become an example to the rest of the world of what consequences shall follow as a result of your actions." The hologram of the sneering god then flickered and disappeared.

The Iron Man fired another round of tiny rockets at the surrounding Frost Giants before flying off towards the S.H.I.E.L.D building, determined to stop Loki. Leif remained standing alone on the street, still staring blankly at the space where his father's hologram had been, stunned by what had just happened. The boy was just trying to calm down and compose himself once more when a shrill scream broke him from his daze.

"No! Please stop! Help!"

Leif spun around and watched with horror as a Frost Giant approached two cornered people, one elderly man and a young woman. The old man, who seemed to be the woman's father, stood in front of the girl protectively, his face lined with determination to save his daughter from the threatening monster. Before Leif could even react, the Frost Giant swung his arm at the man with great force, causing him to fly out into the streets where he landed with a loud thud.

"NO!" Leif cried out in rage as the girl screamed in despair. Leif rushed forwards and fired a powerful blast of energy from both his palms, sending the giant crashing into the wall of a building where he lay, limp and twitching involuntarily.

The woman dashed to her father's side and Leif watched quietly as she wept over the elderly man's now lifeless body. A sharp pang of pain and guilt shot through his heart and Leif could not help but realise that given the current situation, the ones dying could just easily be anyone he cared for. Dread and terror filled the boy's heart as his mind pictured the dead bodies of the people he loved in place of the elderly man's: Oliver, Eleanor, Thor, Darcy, his friends and even surprisingly, Loki. Leif tore his attention away from the weeping, grieving woman and gazed around the city, which was now reduced to a state of rubble and smoke as terrified people screamed and fled while the Frost Giants laughed coldly and pursued their victims.

It was as if time had started to stop and Leif was watching the scene in slow motion, taking in every single detail of what was happening around him. He saw how the people around struggled to escape and to protect their loved ones from those cruel monsters. He observed as parents used their bodies to shield their children and friends dragged one another along, each not only fearing for their own lives, but also for the lives of those close to them. These people were powerless against their enemies, they were not like Leif or the Avengers who had the skills and abilities to help them fight back, but yet they were determined and driven to save the ones they love.

_And what am I doing?_

Leif clenched his fists as his resolve to stop Loki hardened. This is not about being noble. It is not about being a hero and saving the world. It is about doing his part in order to protect the people he loved, as well as the loved ones of  _his_  loved ones. People are all linked in a special way, and the death of one will cause grief and sorrow to the others around him. The sadness will spread, and no single death will be left unmourned. Leif understood that now. He would fight to protect his adoptive parents and to help Thor and the other Avengers who had been kind to him. He would defend his friends and the planet he considered home. But most importantly, Leif would fight to save Loki.

The boy is determined to stop his father's hands from being stained with anymore blood.

XXX

Bruce Banner stared around his surroundings in bemusement.

_Looks like it's time to call out the big guy…_

The scientist was just about to concentrate on gathering his anger to transform into the Hulk when he was distracted by a sudden strange sight. Bruce gaped in surprise at the large clankering robotic suit that was parading around the streets, lashing out at innocent passerbys and firing lasers to destroy the buildings around it. However, what had caught the man's attention was not the robot itself, but the man seated inside of the robot's supposed head, sneering and chuckling while gazing at the chaos he had created through a transparent clear, glass dome.

"Mr Blue!"

At about the same time as Bruce had seen him, Samuel Sterns spotted his old friend as well and directed his robotic suit to stride over to the man. The robot took large heavy steps, cranking and creaking before coming to a halt in front of Bruce Banner, who was staring at his deformed friend in disbelief.

"What in the world? Wha-What happened to you?" Bruce asked incredulously as he gazed at the mutilated bumps and bulges on Stern's head. "Why are you in that- that-" Bruce's voice trailed off, unable to continue in his shock at what Samuel Sterns was doing.

"What happened to me?" Sterns sneered coldly through the glass. " _You_  happened to me! I became this freak of nature because of you!" The deformed man cried out in anger. "If it wasn't for you, if you hadn't drawn in those hostile soldiers to my laboratory years ago, I would not have come into contact with your blood!" The man snarled as Bruce flinched at his accusations. The scientist understood what had happened now; the Hulk's blood must have caused those bizarre mutations in Stern's head.

Bruce Banner felt a tinge of guilt. He had not heard from his friend since the day General Ross had forcefully captured him from Sterns' laboratory but he had certainly not expected the man who had eagerly helped him in the past to fall into this plight because of him.

"Blue, listen to me. I am sorry for what had happened to you. I promise that I will try to help you recover back to normal," Bruce said sincerely, desperate to stop his friend from sinking further in his hatred. "You must stop this! Stop destroying the city! These people are innocent!" The scientist pled but Samuel Sterns merely laughed disdainfully at his words.

"Innocent? They despised me and slighted me in the past!" The madman spat out spitefully and the arms of his robot swung out forcefully as if to reinstate his point. Bruce retreated a few steps back hastily and the machine advanced on the man. "You of all people should know what I mean, Green." Samuel said maliciously. "Those pathetic people don't like you either when you hulk out, do they? Don't you want revenge on them as well?" Bruce stared at his insane friend in dismay.

"No, that is wrong, Blue. You can't kill the others because of that! This is crazy!" Bruce cried out in trepidation.

"Crazy? Maybe I am crazy!" Samuel gave another mad cackle. "But when Loki's plans prevail, I shall be by his side and bask in the glory along with him!"

"Loki?" Bruce was stunned for a moment before it all became clear to him. "Of course… you were the one who built the machine to control the Casket." Samuel Sterns chuckled at the man's words, pleased that someone had realised that fact.

"Indeed, who else could it be?" Sterns declared proudly and Bruce glared at his friend in disgust.

"How could you help Loki? That guy is a maniac! Do you really believe that he will repay you for your help? He is likely to kill you after all this is over!" Bruce shouted furiously and Sterns' eyes flared with a cold, mad anger.

"Stop trying to turn me against Loki! I will not fall for that!" Sterns snapped stubbornly as Bruce stared at him in despair. "Loki's plans will work and when it does, I will be there beside him and the world shall recognise my genius!" The man cackled evilly and Bruce shook his head, knowing that his friend was now too deluded, too insane to see reason.

"And what if the big guy says no?" Bruce said quietly while Sterns looked amused.

"The big guy? Oh I have plans for him." Samuel Sterns chuckled. "You may think that he is invincible, but what if the big guy is forced to calm down?" Bruce gaped in surprise at the man's answer and before he could say anything, a menacing looking gun rolled out from the side of the robotic suit and shot something at the scientist.

Bruce managed to dodge the dart and sprawled onto the ground in pain. He heard a loud grunt and turned his head to see a Frost Giant collapsing onto the ground into a heap after being hit by the dart. The giant was still alive though, and Bruce could see his chest heaving in weak breaths.

_Tranquilisers!_

Bruce's head snapped back to face Samuel Sterns, who gave a mad grin and fired another two more darts in quick succession at his victim. Even without trying, Bruce knew that these weapons would hit their target before he even had a chance to hulk out.


	24. Like Father, Like Son

"Bruce!"

Captain America dashed forward just in the nick of time and deflected the two oncoming darts away from his friend with his shield. Samuel Sterns gave a loud hiss of rage, but before he could fire another round of tranquilisers, Steve flung his shield with all his might and hit the robot dead centre, causing the large bulking machine to stumble back and almost topple over. The round shield bounced back and Steve Rogers caught it effortlessly. The super soldier then turned to his friend.

"Now would be a good time to suit up, pal." Captain America informed lightly and Bruce nodded quietly, a bulging green vein already popping up from his neck.

Steve Rogers stepped back and gave Bruce Banner sufficient space to transform into the Hulk. Once the hulking out process was complete, Steve gave a grin and rushed off to fight the surrounding Frost Giants who were terrorising the civilians. The Captain knew that the fight with Sterns is the Hulk's fight now. He was sure that the big guy would not appreciate him interfering.

The Hulk bellowed a deafening roar of anger and Samuel Sterns gave a screech of fight, all his bravado gone now at the sight of his terrifying enemy. The man directed his robot to step back and fire numerous darts in succession, which the Hulk first dodged and then shielded against with a hood he had plucked from a nearby car. The enormous green beast gave another roar and pounced at his enemy in a single big leap. Sterns screamed in horror and the gun on his robot went haywire, firing the darts in all directions except at the Hulk, which was now perched on top of the clear transparent dome on the robot's head. The Hulk bellowed and slammed his fists on the clear glass, causing cracks to appear all over the dome like a series of ugly cobwebs.

"No! NO!" Sterns shrieked and scrambled about frantically on his seat, punching in commands for his robotic arms to tear the Hulk off, but to no avail. The Hulk growled ferociously and punched the dome once more savagely, shattering the clear glass. He reached in and closed his hand around the squealing, struggling man, lifting Sterns up from his machine and flinging him across the streets where he crashed into a wall and lay limply on the ground, twitching in pain.

Still unsatisfied, the Hulk advanced on his enemy and glared down at the scared whimpering man.

"Please… no."

The Hulk's gaze softened for a moment when he stared down at Sterns. It was as if the Bruce Banner within him had stopped the beast and a flash of recognition for his old friend flitted across his eyes. The Hulk looked down at the limp [body](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8112273/24/Son-of-Loki) of his adversary once more and gave a final disdainful 'HMPH!' before turning away and dashing towards a group of Frost Giants down the streets, ardent to join in the fight.

XXX

The Iron Man flew around the S.H.I.E.L.D building in circles, gritting his teeth in frustration and cursing under his breath.

"Jarvis, do a scan of the building, will ya? See if there is any possible way of entering it." The billionaire muttered angrily.

Covered in a layer of ice, the S.H.I.E.L.D building was now emitting off an eerie blue glow. Tony Stark had thought that this was another one of Loki's lame tricks to deter intruders and had scorned the idea. As if a little ice could stop him! However, the genius soon realised that he was wrong. It was not the coating of ice, but rather the freezing blue aura around the building that should be feared. When Tony flew too close to the building, a layer of ice started to form on his suit and the billionaire only managed to escape from the boundaries of the aura fast enough to prevent his systems from crashing.

"Scan completed. I am afraid there is no possible way to do so without shutting down our systems completely, Sir." Jarvis cool mechanical voice sounded and Tony furiously muttered another curse under his breath. Great! So things are starting to get too cool even for the Iron Man suit!

_So there is nothing we can do while Loki sits inside of the building, laughing his ass off while time is ticking away and-_

_Wait!_  Tony jolted up at a sudden thought.  _Loki is inside. And if that psycho can tolerate the cold, then…_

"Guys, we have a critical situation here." Tony Stark muttered, hoping that his teammates could hear him over whatever ruckus that is sure to be on their side. "Has anyone seen the kid around?"

There was silence for a moment before a cheeky, familiar voice spoke up.

"There are many kids running around in the city. Which one are you looking for?"

"Cut the crap boy." Tony growled impatiently. "Get your ass here to the S.H.I.E.L.D building pronto. I got a mission for you."

"Only if you say please."

"Kid," Tony muttered warningly. As much as he loved a good squabble, this was clearly not the time for it.

"Alright! Alright, keep your socks on! I am coming over."

The Iron Man hovered in the air for a moment and observed the icy blue glow radiating from the building gravely once more. He could only hope that his hunch is correct, if not, they will all be totally screwed.

XXX

Leif dashed down the streets in the direction towards the S.H.I.E.L.D building. From a distance the boy could see a light blue aura surrounding the building and he could already guess what Tony Stark's 'mission' for him is. Leif heard a loud crackle of thunder and turned his head to see streaks of lightning striking down on an area that was blocked by multiple tall buildings. He grinned to himself.

_Looks like Uncle is having a ball of a time!_

As Leif made his way down to his destination, firing blasts at any Frost Giants he encountered and dodging all the blows thrown in his direction, he spotted Clint and Natasha in the middle of the streets, using an overturned car as cover and fending off attacks from the incoming giants. Clint shot arrows with amazing precision, aiming for the eyes of the enemy every time and killing all of them with single arrows. The master marksman had just fired an explosive arrow at the side of a nearby building, blasting up the wall and causing it to collapse and crush seven Frost Giants charging towards the duo, when he turned to Natasha.

"You aren't going to tell me that this is just like Budapest again, are you?" Hawkeye grinned and the Black Widow rolled her eyes in disdain. The red headed assassin then simultaneously shot two Frost Giants in their eyes with her pistols in both hands.

"So what happened in Budapest?" A sudden amused voice sounded.

Natasha Romanoff jumped in alarm and spun around immediately, training both her guns at the source of the voice, which turned out to be a smirking Leif.

"Whoa! Easy there! I am an ally!" Leif exclaimed in mock terror and Natasha shot him a murderous glare.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, kid? I thought Tony wanted you down at the S.H.I.E.L.D building." Clint muttered bemusedly as he fired another series of arrows at three roaring Frost Giants. Leif gave a nonchalant shrug and fired a blast of energy from his palms, knocking back a couple of giants charging towards them.

"Better get going, Leif." Natasha said sternly and Leif grinned mischievously.

"Sure. You can tell me about Budapest after this is over." The boy chuckled and dashed down the street once more, ignoring the death glares he received from Natasha Romanoff and firing blasts at any Frost Giant who dared to approach him.

Leif was just two streets away from reaching his destination and was just turning around the bend of a building when he was suddenly jerked back and nearly choked as a strong cold arm held him in a neck lock. The boy sputtered and gasped for air, struggling against the freezing firm grip of the Frost Giant who had caught him. However, Leif was no match in terms of strength against the beast.

_God, no!_

Leif gasped in horror as the biting cold around his neck started to spread to the rest of his body. Both of his hands, which had been clawing at his captor's arm, had turned a deep icy blue. The Frost Giant's freezing cold body temperature had caused the boy to transform. Leif's heart fell as a group of Frost Giants started to gather around and stare at this strange sight. If he couldn't escape from just one, how could he possibly fight against so many now?

"Eyvindr, this boy you caught. Is he-?" One of the surrounding giants curiously asked the larger one who had locked Leif in the firm neck hold, still gazing at the strange boy. Leif heard his captor give a low chuckle and grimaced as he felt the blood in his body turn cold.

"Loki's son." Eyvindr sneered and the surrounding Frost Giants broke out in amused cackles. The Frost Giant tilted Leif's face towards him and the boy found himself staring into a pair of harsh red eyes. A monstrous grin crept over Eyvindr's face as he observed his captive.

"I believe Loki would do anything to have his son back." The larger Frost Giant smirked and a few of his cronies broke out in a cold spiteful laughter. "Now that his precious son is in our hands, what do you think our  _king_  will do?" Leif's eyes widened in shock when he realised what Eyvindr meant and the boy struggled more vigorously, kicking out and firing blasts of energy from his hands at any part of the Frost Giant he could reach. Eyvindr gave a snarl of anger and beckoned a few of his followers to help restrain the boy. Leif yelled in pain as the other Frost Giants gripped his arms and legs roughly, their freezing cold skin biting into his. He could feel his entire body transforming back into his original form, affected by the cold aura from the giants surrounding him.

"Kid, are you strolling through the park or something? I am not getting any younger here." Tony Stark's annoyed voice sounded in Leif's ear piece and the boy gritted his teeth in frustration, unable to even reach up for his communication device and call for assistance.

_Just a moment… I think need a little help here myself!_

XXX

Tony Stark flew around the S.H.I.E.L.D building impatiently.

_What the hell is taking the kid so long?_

After waiting another 3 minutes for Leif to appear without any avail, the billionaire grimly decided that he would have to go and search for that little brat himself. Leif had not replied his earlier call and Tony furiously thought that the kid better had a good excuse for ignoring him. The Iron Man zoomed across the city, fervently scanning the grounds for any signs of Leif when he came across a bizarre sight. A group of Frost Giants were surrounding and grappling with a struggling blue thing. Curiosity got the better of Tony and he flew down a little lower to see what it was. Turns out the blue thing was Leif.

Without further ado, Tony Stark fired a series of tiny rockets at the surrounding giants and blasted them away. With his hands now free, Leif aimed both his palms at the surprised Eyvindr's face and blasted a strong energy projection at the giant, causing him to release his grip on the boy's neck and fly backwards, crumpling into a heap on the ground. The Iron Man landed on the ground and stared at Leif, who was coughing and sputtering for air on all fours, clearly shaken by what had just happened.

"This is the second time I saved your ass today kid. You are welcome." Tony said dryly. "By the way, you look a little different. Did you dye your hair or something?"

Leif shot the billionaire a dirty look and slowly got onto his feet. He gazed down at his body and saw, much to his relief that his skin was gradually turning back to its original colour. The mask of the Iron Man flipped up as Tony stared at Leif's transformation in bemusement.

"Now that's freaky." The man commented and Leif ignored him, giving a tiny sigh as he looked at his now normal skin tone. "Right, now that you no longer look like a Na'vi from Avatar, I believe we need to make our next move." Tony said matter-of-factly and Leif looked at him knowingly.

"You want me to enter the S.H.I.E.L.D building?" Leif asked with his eyebrows raised. "I don't think I can take on Loki alone, you know?" Tony gave a scornful laugh at his words.

"Of course I know you can't." The billionaire retorted. "But you are the only one who could possibly enter. Just go inside and see if you can deactivate whatever is causing that eerie blue aura. Better yet, you can use your glib of the tongue to dissuade Loki from destroying the Earth! Swell plan, isn't it?" The billionaire said mockingly and Leif rolled his eyes.

"I guess it will have to do, considering how  _you_  are the one who came up with the plan." Leif smirked at the affronted Tony. "So, are you going to give me a lift?"

The Iron Man mask snapped down shut and lit up.

"Hop on, kid."

Leif allowed Tony to grab him from under his arms and lift him up into the air, zooming towards the S.H.I.E.L.D building at an amazing pace. Tony Stark stopped a good distance away from the building and hovered in the air.

"This is it kid. I am going to toss you in. My suit can't get near that aura." The Iron Man muttered grimly.

"Wha-? Wait!" But before Leif could protest, Tony flung the boy towards the building. Leif crashed into the building through a window and lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.

_I am so going to kill that damned Stark after this._

Leif got up gingerly and winced at the pain shooting through his body. He felt about himself carefully and gave a sigh of relief after being satisfied that there was no permanent damage done. At least no bones were broken. After composing himself, Leif took a glimpse around the room. He grimaced at the sight of the bloody bodies of both S.H.I.E.L.D agents and Frost Giants before realising with a sudden jolt that the air in the building was bitingly cold.

The boy's heart skipped a beat and he glanced down at his hands in panic, expecting to transform back into his blue skinned, red-eyed form. However, the change did not happen. After staring at his own skin for a few seconds, Leif finally calmed down as he remembered that his father despised their Frost Giant look as much as he did. Of course Loki would have set the temperature such that it would be sufficient to deter trespassers but inadequate to cause their transformation.

_Time to get moving…_

Leif stepped cautiously over the piles of corpses and reached the stairs. He paused for a moment. Would Loki be up or down? After pondering for a second, Leif decided on going upstairs. His father was just like him; they loved grandeur and attention. Leif knew that Loki would definitely be at the top of the building where everyone would be able to see him. The boy rushed up a few flights of stairs and finally reached the top floor. He shuddered involuntarily as a chill ran down his spine, caused by both the freezing temperature as well as his anxiety in meeting his father once more.

Hearing a faint whirring noise, Leif headed towards the direction of its source and reached a large round room with a clear transparent material for its walls. It is built similarly to the room where Leif and Bruce had conducted their experiment before and the boy could see a faint outline of his reflection on the glass. Sure enough, standing and smirking at Leif from inside the room next to a large glowing machine, was Loki.

"I had sort of guessed that you would come." Loki grinned slyly as he stepped out of the room into the corridor, gazing carefully at his son. Leif didn't smile back. His eyes flicked for a moment towards the glowing, humming machine in the centre of the transparent room.

_It appears that the aura is radiating from that device…_

"Stop this, Father." Leif said quietly, turning his attention back to Loki. "This is pure madness. You can't exterminate the entire New York City like this."

"And why not?" Loki smirked evilly and took a few steps closer to his son. "I had been more compassionate in the past and attacked with just an army, but my plans failed. If the humans are not going to kneel under my rule, then what's the use of keeping them alive?" Leif glared at his father in disgust as the god chuckled. "I would love to see the look on Thor's face when his precious Earth is reduced to a frozen wasteland like Jotunheim." Loki sneered spitefully.

"So you are doing all this out of hatred?" Leif shot Loki a disdainful glare which his father merely returned with a cold unfeeling look.

"Maybe," Loki shrugged casually. "And you are here to try and persuade me to become good again?"

"Maybe," Leif repeated his father's answer and grinned when Loki glowered at him.

"Don't give me your cheek, Son. I don't have the patience to deal with you when you continue to defy me over and over again." Loki snarled in anger and Leif gazed back at him defiantly. After observing Loki's rage, Leif decided that he would have no time to dissuade his father from his crazy plans. The Casket would unleash its energy at any moment now. His best bet would be to distract Loki for a moment and try to destroy the machine.

"And so you would rather deal with those revolting Frost Giants you claimed to despise so much?" Leif asked scornfully and paced along the corridor, placing himself in an ideal position near the entrance of the room.

"Those monsters are nothing but my pawns, Leif." Loki scoffed as he glared at his son. "They are just the foolish mindless creatures that I used to perfect my schemes and-"

"Well those mindless creatures actually have minds of their own, you know?" Leif interrupted Loki's words sarcastically. "They almost captured me on the streets earlier and wanted to use me to threaten you, their supposed  _king_." The boy smirked at the look of surprise on Loki's face. "And once again, you have placed my life in peril."

"I never meant to do that!" Loki snapped irritably. "You are my son, Leif. And like I have said in the past, I would never intentionally place you in harm's way."

"Oh I don't know," Leif replied coolly, ignoring the glares Loki threw in his direction. "You don't seem to have much care for family, regardless of blood related or non-blood related. Look at how you treated Odin and Thor." The boy smirked. He knew that mentioning this topic was playing with fire, but it  _is_  Loki's Achilles' heel. Leif would have to either make it, or break it.

The God of Mischief gave a hiss of rage at his son's audacity.

"Odin and Thor are different!" Loki snarled furiously. "I do not care for them!"

"You do," Leif replied firmly. "You hate them, and hate is not the opposite of love. Indifference is. The very fact that you still bear grudges against them proves that you still care." Loki gaped for a moment, stunned by what Leif had said and his face contorted in fury once more.

"Listen boy," Loki growled, entirely absorbed in his anger. "I don't know where you heard this ridiculous thing fro-"

Before Loki could finish his sentence, Leif fired a blast of energy towards the god from his palm, catching him unawares and knocking him back onto the ground. The boy then made a mad dash into the room towards the machine, determined to destroy it at all costs. Loki snarled in rage and got up immediately, teleporting into the room and tackling the boy from his side before he could aim a projection of energy at the machine. The energy blast from Leif's palm shot upwards into the ceiling, blasting it away and causing rubble to rain down on the father and son duo wrestling on the ground.

Loki managed to crawl up first and viciously kicked Leif in the stomach, causing the boy to fly out of the room with great force and slam into the wall. Leif flinched at the pain and retaliated by firing another blast of energy at his father, who was charging towards him and succeeded in hitting the god square in his chest, knocking him off his feet.

A furious battle then ensued and Leif soon learnt that his father far outmatched him in terms of strength, wit and magic. During the fight, Loki had put his magic to good use and Leif often found himself striking or firing energy blasts at replicates of his father. Even though the boy knew how to cast illusions as well, Loki's experience in battle surpassed his and Leif was on the losing end.

After Leif swung out at the smirking face of his father, only to realise that it was a fake again, he was blasted backwards by Loki's own projection of energy and slammed against the concrete wall next to the clear transparent glass of the room. One of Loki's hands closed around his neck, choking him while the other gripped his hair and tugged back, forcing Leif to stare straight into the god's glinting emerald eyes.

"Look at me!" Loki hissed ferociously as Leif coughed and gasped for air. "I am your father! I am the one you should be working with, not fighting against!" The god's eyes flashed with anger as he glared straight into his son's. Loki then twisted Leif's head forcefully to face the transparent walls, where their reflections could clearly be seen.

"Take a good look at yourself! You are my son! We are alike!" Loki spat viciously as Leif continued to struggle against his grip. The god then slammed the boy's head back against the wall once more and shook him, trying to get his son to comply with his words. "Stop trying to fight me! Why can't you just see that we are similar, Leif? We should be working together!"

Leif's efforts to struggle ceased as he stared at his reflection, taking in every single detail of himself and Loki. Yes, he did bear a striking resemblance to his father; their emerald green eyes, ebony black hair and facial features. Even the shine in their eyes could be considered somewhat similar. Loki's hand around Leif's neck loosened its hold as the god gazed down at his son, feeling a little encouraged by Leif's absence of a struggle.

"Yes, we are alike." Leif murmured softly, his eyes still trained on their reflection and Loki's face broke into a grin, thinking that his son has finally seen reason. However, the god's glee was short-lived as a sudden large blast of energy threw Loki back and sent him crashing into the wall opposite of them. The back of Loki's head slammed violently against the wall, knocking him out instantly. Leif gazed sadly at his father's limp body.

"Both of us will resort to any means to get what we want." Leif continued quietly and turned away from his unconscious father, striding into the room towards the glowing machine.

_Now, how do I turn this thing off?_

Leif stared in bemusement at the numerous tiny buttons on the machine. He had no idea how to operate this thing.

_Why can't things be simpler, like they are in the movies where there is a big red button labelled On/Off?_

The boy frowned and considered pushing some buttons to try his luck before deciding against it. No, that might just make things worse.

_Maybe I can blast this thing?_

Leif concentrated and fired a large blast of energy at the machine, hoping to destroy the device. However, the Casket of Ancient Winters glowed and deflected the blast, sending it back to the boy. Leif had just enough time to duck and dodge the attack, which shot over him and blew up a gaping hole in the wall behind. He grimaced at this turn of events.

_Great, what do I do now?_

He couldn't turn off the machine, and Leif had learnt the hard way that it couldn't be destroyed either. He tried to see if he could pull the Casket out from the machine but withdrew his hands hastily when a sharp zap surged through his hands once he touched the Casket. The boy gritted his teeth in frustration. At this rate the city will be frozen at any second! Leif closed his eyes, utterly vexed by the situation. He had to think of a plan and he would have to think fast.

_If only there is some way to get rid of this thing…_

Leif's eyes snapped open as an idea popped into his head. It was a risky one, but it might just work and given the current situation, the boy figured that he didn't really have a choice. Leif shot one final rueful glance back at the stirring body of his father.

_I guess I should give this a shot._

Leif closed his eyes once more and brought both his hands up to his chest level, focusing on gathering the energy from his surroundings into the space between both his palms. If this didn't work, then nothing else would.


	25. Sentiment

Loki gave a low groan and struggled to get up, wincing at the pain that shot up his back.

_That little brat… I will get him for this!_

The God of Mischief leant against the wall for support and looked around angrily for his son, finally spotting him inside the room next to the machine.

_The nerve of that-_

Loki stumbled onto his feet and was about to stride furiously into the room to teach Leif a lesson when he stopped abruptly and his blood turned cold after seeing what the boy was doing.

_Wha- What?_

The god stared in horror at the growing swirling vortex between Leif's palms and for a moment, he was stunned, unsure of what to do or think. It was only after a few seconds that realisation of his son's motives and the consequences that will follow hit him. Loki's stomach clenched at the thought.

_NO!_

If Leif succeeded in creating the vortex, he would not only cause the Casket of Ancient Winters to be lost in a separate dimension and ruin Loki's plans. The very action of creating the vortex is extremely dangerous, and even with the pendant to protect him, the explosion caused combined with the energy of the Casket when triggered could kill the boy. Loki's eyes widened in terror at that idea. No! He can't let that happen!

In the past, despite how his plans and actions had pushed Leif away from him, Loki had always been certain that his son would one day return to his side. He had never even once considered the notion that Leif would leave him. However, now, at this very moment, the possibility of his son being lost to him forever was present and looming threateningly over the god. A cold, piercing fear overtook Loki as he stood outside of the room, holding his hand against the wall for balance and staring in despair at Leif. For the first time in a long while, the God of Trickery was panicking, and his mind was blank, unable to discern his next move.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Loki cried out in desperation to Leif, who seemed too engrossed in his actions to hear his father. "If you do that you will kill yourself!" The god stared in disbelief as his son continued to ignore him. With his face hardened, Loki got firmly onto his feet and dashed into the room.

On the way in, a flurry of thoughts had rushed through his mind. The sorcerer could see from the size of the vortex that it would be too late to stop the explosion now, and he had no idea what he would do once he reached Leif. However, the fatherly instinct inside of him prompted Loki to charge forward regardless of the dangers and to save his son, no matter how futile his actions will be. Loki was just inches away from the boy, reaching out to pull Leif away from the vortex when the deafening explosion of energy occurred.

After the explosion collided with the Casket of Ancient Winters, the energy gathered erupted with a blinding blue light and both Leif and Loki were thrown backwards by the blast. While he flailed about in the air, one of Loki's hands managed to grab hold onto the edge of the roof of an adjacent building while the other miraculously caught hold of Leif. A swirling icy blue vortex had formed a distance away from them, inside of the S.H.I.E.L.D building and Loki could see that it was sucking in objects around it with a tremendous force. As bits of rubble and items flew past Loki and hurtled into the swirling hole, the god realised that the collision with the Casket has amplified the power of the vortex. The relic was now gone, lost in the twirling depths of the abyss but the energy it had released was still immense and present.

Loki's arm ached with the strain of holding onto the edge of the building as well as gripping Leif's hand tightly, desperate to stop his son from being pulled into the void. The god felt hilariously helpless in the current situation. The blast had weakened him considerably and with his current strength and magic, there was no way for Loki to get both himself and Leif out of this tight spot. All he could do now was to hold onto both sides for dear life and hope that the vortex will disappear after a while. However, Loki's arms are starting to grow tired.

"Don't worry Leif; I will get us out of this." Loki cried out to his son and forced an assuring smile onto his face. Nonetheless, the God of Lies knew that this particular lie was utterly pathetic given their situation and Leif knew better than that as well.

"No, you can't pull us both up. Just let go of me… save yourself." Leif muttered quietly as he stared into his father's eyes and the god's smile faltered. Loki's heart sank as he looked at his son's faint expression, realising that the explosion had injured Leif greatly and that it would only be a matter of time before the boy lost consciousness. The god started to panic again. No, he would never let go.

"No, Leif… Listen! I will save us both!" Loki began anxiously but Leif only gazed back at him ruefully.

It was then, during this time of jeopardy, that Loki realised with a pang of irony how this scene was so familiar. It was somehow déjà vu all over again. The god's mind raced back to a year ago during his huge battle with his brother, which had ended with Odin grabbing onto Thor while he and Loki dangled dangerously over the abyss they have created on the destroyed Rainbow Bridge. Loki had been in Leif's position then, and both Odin and Thor had similarly begged him not to let go.

_Had they felt the same way as I do now?_

A flicker of doubt suddenly flitted through Loki's heart as he remembered the looks of anguish on his father and brother's face. The trickster had dismissed those sorrowful looks and pleas as an act in the past, choosing not to dwell more into them. However, at this critical moment, the god could not help but wonder if Odin and Thor had gone through the same feelings as he was undergoing now: Fear, terror, desperation and the torturous pain of being helpless to save the one you loved. Loki had let go in the past, despite his family's pleas and he now realised that by doing so, he had been the cruel one all along. The god now understood the heartbreak he would have caused in that single move and his insides turned cold with fear of what would happen if Leif did the same.

_Is this my retribution?_

Leif's hand loosened its grip, shocking Loki from his train of thoughts and the god panicked, clutching onto his son even tighter.

_No! I will not let Leif leave me like this!_

"Leif! You can't let go! You mustn't! If you do, I will- I will-" Loki racked his brain for any threat to stop his son from releasing his grip but found none. Leif seemed to realise this and flashed his father one last weak grin before closing his eyes, lost to the world of the conscious. The boy's hand grew limp and Loki's eyes widened with horror.

_No!_

The god gripped onto his son's hand even tighter, but he knew that Leif would slip away from him sooner or later. The pull of the vortex was too strong and Loki was becoming increasingly weaker at every passing second. The God of Lies looked around desperately for any sign of help that may possibly arrive to save them; however, there was not a single soul to be seen.

_Where is Thor when you finally need him?_

Loki gritted his teeth in frustration and turned his head to look at Leif once more. It was no use. The boy was too gravely injured and Loki knew that he would not be able to resuscitate him like this. In view of the hopeless situation, the god considered releasing his grip on the building and plunging into the vortex along with Leif. If he could not save his son, then Loki decided that he would join him. At least neither of them would be alone. Just as Loki was about to let go, he felt a strong hand close around his and the god's head snapped back eagerly, expecting to look into a pair of electric blue eyes. However, he found himself staring into an expressionless metal mask and for some reason he could not comprehend, a slight tinge of disappointment flitted across Loki's heart.

"Gotcha Frosty," The Iron Man chirped and flew off into the air, dragging Loki and Leif along with him away from the vortex. Tony released his hold of Loki once they reached the rooftop of a building a safe distance away from the swirling blue mass and the god found himself falling and sprawling onto the hard ground, separated from Leif during the fall. The Iron Man landed lightly on the ground and watched with amusement as Loki struggled to get up and hurriedly dragged himself to his son's side.

"Leif! Leif!" Loki cried out anxiously, shaking the boy's limp body. When there was no response, the god fearfully checked for a pulse and found much to his relief that Leif was still alive. The boy's breathing was weak though, and Loki had no idea how much damage the explosion had done.

"Looks like junior needs medical attention." Tony Stark observed dryly as the Iron Man mask snapped up and the billionaire gazed down at the unconscious boy. It took all of Loki's willpower and concern for his son to stop him from strangling the supposed genius. The god stared at Leif sorrowfully and uncontrollable tears fell from his eyes.

_Leif was right… I have always placed his life in peril._

"I never knew you had enough human in you to cry," Tony said as he stared at Loki curiously.

"Shut up Stark. For once, just shut up!"

XXX

Thor strode along the corridor of S.H.I.E.L.D's secret underground base grimly.

Leif was now resting in a hospital ward. A few minutes after Tony Stark had saved the boy and Loki, a raven had flown down next to Leif carrying a small vial of liquid. Thor, who had reached the scene by then, recognised the bird as Odin's messenger and that the liquid in the vial was medicine the All Father had sent to save his grandson. Loki and Thor had hurriedly fed Leif the potion and the boy's condition was now stable. Loki had then been escorted to a cell underground in S.H.I.E.L.D's base and the god had been surprisingly compliant, leaving without a word even though Thor could see worry in his eyes when his brother took a final glimpse at Leif.

Thor had been sitting by Leif's bedside for four whole hours after that incident, anxiously waiting for the boy to wake when Phil Coulson appeared all of a sudden and informed the Thunder God that Loki wished to see him. Despite his reluctance to leave his nephew's side, Thor knew that Loki must be as concerned about the boy as he was and decided to meet his brother. Phil had agreed to stay with Leif while Thor was away and the Norse God was now on his way to visit his wayward brother.

The two armed agents nodded at Thor when they saw him and opened the heavy metal door of the cell for the god. Thor strode in cautiously and gazed at Loki, who was sitting inside quietly with his hands locked in a metal cuff. The metal door swung shut behind Thor and there was a moment of silence where the two brothers stared wordlessly at each other. Finally, Thor cleared his throat and spoke.

"Leif is fine now. He is recovering. The potion Father sent has worked wonders." The Thunder God said gruffly, guessing that this was the only thing Loki cared about right now. The God of Mischief simply nodded and continued eye contact with Thor, making the god extremely uncomfortable.

"I know. I am able to observe Leif from afar and I have the utmost confidence in Father's abilities." Loki replied flatly and Thor blinked in surprise. If Loki already knew, then why did he ask to meet him? Thor stared at his brother for a while more and decided to leave when neither of them spoke. However, just as he turned to exit the cell, Loki stopped him.

"Thor."

The God of Thunder spun around and looked at his brother questioningly.

"In the past, when I fell into the abyss and all of Asgard thought me to be dead," Loki muttered quietly while Thor seemed utterly confused. "You had said that you had mourned. Is that true?"

Thor gaped in surprise at Loki's question. He had not expected this. The Thunder God stared at his brother in disbelief for a moment before regaining his composure over his initial shock at Loki's words.

"Of course brother," Thor said finally and gazed ruefully at Loki. "We all did."

"Even Father?" Loki's question came out more as a plea. Thor could see the sorrow and desperation in the younger god's emerald eyes as he stared at his brother.

"Especially Father." Thor replied truthfully and for a moment, Loki's eyes seemed to flash with something similar to guilt. Loki broke off his eye contact with Thor and stared down at his hands quietly, appearing to be pondering deeply about something.

"Thank you." This came out as a low whisper from Loki's mouth which Thor could barely catch. However, the larger Norse God heard it and flashed a rueful smile at his brother that Loki did not see. After gazing at Loki for a few more seconds, Thor decided to leave. Their meeting was over; Loki had made it clear by refusing to look at Thor any further. However, even as the God of Thunder left the room, his heart lifted considerably as Loki's final two words echoed in his mind.

Yes, Thor was sure that there is still a possibility of redemption for his brother yet.

XXX

Loki gazed down at Leif sadly as he stood next to the boy's bed.

It was 3 a.m. now, and the hospital was eerily quiet at this time of the night. Not a single soul was to be seen as all visitors, including hysterical uncles, had to leave the wards and allow the patients peace and quiet for their rest. Loki had chosen this time to visit his son, knowing full well that he would not be interrupted.

_Leif…_

After Thor's visit, Loki had been left alone in his cell to reflect on his past actions. The god had been conflicted, not knowing what to think or believe in given his current situation. A part of him was now laden with guilt and remorse at what he had done while another part of him was still arguing that he had no other choice given his circumstances. However, there was one thing that the God of Lies could not deny. The acts he committed had nearly cost him his son's life.

_You still care…_

Leif's voice had rang in Loki's head as he remembered how the boy tried to convince him that Odin and Thor was still important to him. A pang of pain shot through his heart at that thought and Loki remembered the incident on the destroyed Bifrost once more. For once the god truly considered the fact that he had hurt his father and brother gravely with his past actions and smiled bitterly at the irony of how the things he had done only managed to push away what he had been fighting for in the first place: Family and love.

_Leif was right. My son had seen things more clearly than I did._

Loki knew that Thor would be bringing him back to Asgard as soon as Leif recovered. He knew that he would have to pay the consequences for his actions. However, the trickster had decided otherwise. Loki did not fear the punishment that would be arriving his way. No, he was scared of something else. After all this trouble he had caused, Loki feared facing Odin once more. He dreaded seeing the disappointment and grief on his Father's face. For once, the trickster wanted to apologise, to repent for his actions but he was still conflicted inside. There were still some doubts within him, and Loki had decided that he would need more time to come to terms with his own misgivings. It would be wrong for him to meet Odin before that, before he could clearly point out his own errors and truly seek for forgiveness from his father. Therefore, Loki had decided to leave.

After an incident involving the request for a magazine, a few yelps of pain and several knocked out agents, Loki was now free again. The God of Trickery had managed to escape from his cell and had decided to pay his son one final visit quickly before he left. After all, it would only be a matter of time before the Avengers are on his trail again.

Loki carefully flicked a strand of stray hair away from Leif's face. Even if all the other thoughts in the god's mind were uncertain, he could be sure about one thing: his guilt at having placed his son's life at risk. Loki continued staring sorrowfully at his son and all of a sudden, as if sensing his father's presence, the boy's eyelids twitched and his eyes gingerly opened.

"Father?" A hoarse whisper escaped from Leif's mouth and Loki could not help but give a tiny rueful smile. "Is… is this a dream? What happened to all the green and silver mist?" The boy flashed a weak grin as he stared at his father, his eyes still tired and weary from his earlier experience.

"The mist got a little  _old_." Loki smiled and Leif gave a faint chuckle. "Leif," The god said a little more seriously this time. "I will be leaving this place soon." The boy's eyes widened a little in alarm as he gazed at Loki.

"Where?"

"It doesn't matter, my son. Regardless of where I am, I promise that I will always be by your side… and I will always visit you." Loki gave an assuringly smile and Leif relaxed.

"I know you will." The boy grinned and his eyelids drooped shut once more. Loki stared at Leif as he slept peacefully for a moment and felt comforted by the fact that his son was now safe.

_I love you._

The god's hand brushed tenderly across Leif's cheek as Loki took one final glimpse at his son and teleported away.

XXX

"Could you believe that Loki escaped again? I really must have a word with Fury regarding S.H.I.E.L.D's flimsy security." Tony grumbled and popped another grape into his mouth. All of the Avengers, except for Clint and Natasha, who were busy with S.H.I.E.L.D matters due to Loki's recent escape, were now in Leif's hospital ward to visit the boy. Leif had made an amazing recovery and was now able to sit up on his bed and munch on an apple while listening with amusement to the others' conversation.

"Phil said that he knocked out 14 highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D agents to escape," Steve said grimly. "And with Loki's skills and magic, I bet it would be hard to track him down." Bruce and Thor nodded in agreement while Tony started cynically questioning the capabilities and intelligence of S.H.I.E.L.D's supposed highly trained agents.

Leif suppressed a tiny grin at the thought of his father being free again. The boy had not told anyone, not even Thor, about the visit from Loki two nights before. Dream or not, Leif knew that the encounter was real and he was sort of reluctant to send the Avengers after his father even after what Loki had done.

"You are awfully quiet kid, do you know something that we don't?" Tony's suspicious voice jolted Leif from his daze.

"Huh! No, of course not!" Leif replied brightly and took another bite out of his apple.

"My nephew is injured, Stark. It is perfectly normal if he does not feel like speaking." Thor said gruffly, throwing a glare in Tony's direction. Although the god had not voiced it out loud, everyone knew that he was once again unhappy with Tony Stark for pushing his precious nephew into the line of fire during the war.

"Well, don't look at me as though it was my fault. I told the boy to try and deactivate the Casket. I didn't ask him to risk his life and create a ginormous black hole that nearly killed him, destroyed the S.H.I.E.L.D building as well as tear down a portion of the city surrounding it." Tony replied flatly and threw another grape into his mouth. "Hmmm… these grapes are good."

"Well, look on the bright side," Steve said hastily after seeing the enraged look on Thor's face. "At least Leif is safe now and the whole of New York City is saved with the exception of a few buildings, considering how the vortex disappeared after a few minutes. The Frost Giants had been demoralised after seeing the explosion and we were able to beat them easily after that, weren't we? I dare say it's a rather fair trade."

"And we have Leif to thank for it." Bruce smiled at the boy and Leif flashed a grin back. Thor seemed to calm down after hearing his friends' words but still threw a dirty look in Tony's direction.

"But my brother has escaped again." The god muttered dejectedly. He had hoped that Loki would return to Asgard with him and repent his past errs. From the conversation he had with his brother, Thor had been sure that there was still hope for Loki yet.

"You know what, guys?" Bruce said finally after a moment's silence. "After hearing Tony's account of how Loki had risked his life to save Leif and the fact that he merely knocked out the agents and didn't kill them, I think Loki may not be entirely evil yet. Perhaps it would be better if he never pops up on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar ever again." Bruce's eyes flicked towards Leif and the scientist gave the boy a tiny smile, which the boy returned gratefully.

Leif understood what Bruce was trying to say. Yes, it would be best if Loki stayed off S.H.I.E.L.D's radar. That would mean that the god is no longer threatening the world again and has turned over a new leaf. Besides, Loki had promised to visit Leif before he left, and the boy knew that it was a promise that even the God of Lies will never break. Leif grinned to himself. He was sure that he would be having some really sweet dreams soon.

"Well then, now that the S.H.I.E.L.D building is destroyed once more, what do you think Fury will do with us?" Steve mentioned lightly, hoping to change the topic away from the sensitive issue of Loki's escape. Four pairs of eyes in the room turned towards Tony Stark's direction and the billionaire's eyebrows rose sceptically.

"Well don't look at me! My house is undergoing some really heavy renovation projects right now… I don't have any more spare rooms for guests."

XXX

Thor sat happily on a patio chair in Tony's garden, or park, which the god had felt was a more fitting word to describe the place.

After Leif had made a full recovery, he and the Avengers had moved into the Stark Mansion once more, despite Tony's disgruntled protests. This stay was predicted to be a longer one than the first, considering how Leif had managed to single-handedly destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D building once more. Nick Fury had coolly stated that it would now take more time to search for a new place to set up as headquarters and since the others had not fancied the idea of staying underground in the organisation's secret base, Tony soon found his house being swamped with unwanted guests again. Pepper had taken this piece of news lightly, much to Tony's bemusement, and had even suggested celebrating their victory and Leif's recovery with a simple barbeque.

Thor sniffed the delicious aroma of grilled steaks sifting in the air with approval. Yes, Ms Potts is a wonderful chef. The Norse God readily decided that Tony Stark was extremely lucky indeed to have her as his lover. The other Avengers had gathered and were now sitting around the patio table, chatting cheerily about the simpler things in life. The atmosphere here was merry, and no one was foolish enough to mention the battle they had with Loki and the Frost Giants just a few days earlier. Times were peaceful now, and everyone appreciated that fact.

Thor listened with amusement for a moment as Leif cheekily pestered an annoyed Natasha about some incident that had happened in Budapest before his mind drifted off towards his brother once more. Thor still remembered the look in the trickster's eyes when he asked about their father and the quiet 'Thank you' he had muttered to Thor in the end. This comforted the god greatly. Loki may not have apologised to his brother or expressed his repentance, but Thor knew that the thanks Loki had said meant a lot.

"YOU BRAT!"

The god jolted up at the sound of Tony's furious voice. It appeared that Leif had once again managed to salt the billionaire's wine glass and Tony had nearly choked on his ruined drink. The god chuckled heartily as the enraged Tony chased Leif around the garden while Bruce and Steve tried to stop them. Natasha and Clint also appeared to enjoy the scene and were laughing with amusement. Pepper's brows rose in disapproval as she stared at her childish lover.

Thor's smile faltered after a moment as he gazed at his nephew and friends. Somehow, deep inside of him, the god ruefully wished that Loki could be here with them. Thor knew that his brother would have enjoyed watching this scene. If he were present, Loki would probably be smirking alongside with Leif at the furious, panting Tony, patting his son on the shoulder for a prank well played. Thor knew his brother.

The God of Thunder remembered all of a sudden how Leif had accused him of not being willing to give up the throne of Asgard for Loki in the past. He considered this for a moment and decided that Leif was right in a certain way. Thor would not only be willing to give up the throne for his brother, he would be willing to give up his life.

Thor gazed quietly at Leif, who was now grinning and making some sort of snide remark at Tony Stark while Steve Rogers struggled to restrain the angry, kicking billionaire. Yes, Leif was exactly like Loki when he was younger. Thor felt another pang of sadness for his brother. Despite all Loki had done in the past, Thor had hoped that he would one day relent and accept the embrace of his family once more. Loki deserved more than to spend his days alone in exile. He should be here, laughing along with his brother and son and enjoying the warm company of friends, just like Leif is.

_I will do all it takes to get Loki back again…_

Thor smiled to himself as his resolve to bring his brother back hardened. If Leif could accept his differences and fit in, then the god was sure that his brother would be able to do the same. Loki may have left them once more, but Thor had faith that his brother will return one day.

_After all, there is this Midgardian saying: Like son, like father…_

Thor's brows furrowed in confusion as he thought about it once more.

_Or was it: Like father, like son?_


End file.
